COLLIESTON ONLINE

Proposals for AWPR bus service announced

· Brand new service 747 linking to Aberdeen Airport using the Fastlink AWPR
· Public asked for opinions on proposed bus timetables for Aberdeenshire and Moray

Stagecoach North Scotland is inviting customers across Aberdeenshire and Moray to provide feedback on new bus timetable proposals planned to commence on Monday 12th November 2018.

These proposals include revisions to services to increase capacity on popular journeys as well as changes that are designed to improve journey times for customers. The vast majority of the changes are in preparation of the full opening of the £745million infrastructure investment, the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR).

The proposed timetables for bus services in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray are all available online now at stagecoachbus.com. Stagecoach is encouraging customers to review the proposals and provide feedback through a series of consultation events taking place until Friday 21st September 2018.

The proposals include –

· New service 747 introducing airport connections from Peterhead, Cruden Bay, Ellon, Kingswells, Stonehaven and Montrose.
· Increased frequency from Ellon Park and Ride to Aberdeen.
· Improved Sunday frequency from Peterhead to Aberdeen with departures up to every 30 minutes.
· Services 54 and 62 in Ellon will combine to become new 54/54X/N54 services.
· Revisions to timetables in Aberdeen city to improve punctuality on service 14 (Kingswells), X17 (Westhill) and 37/X37 (Inverurie).
· New Sunday services for service 14 and 15A in Aberdeen.
· Additional service 10 journey introduced from Huntly to address capacity issues in the morning peak to Aberdeen.
· Additional service 35 journey introduced Monday – Friday from Aberdeen in the PM peak.
· Deveron Community and Sports Centre near Banff Academy introduced to some service 35 journeys.

As part of the proposals a brand new service 747 will be introduced offering a new link across Aberdeenshire and Angus as a result of the AWPR. Once the AWPR is fully opened, the new service will replace services 107 and 747 and will also provide journeys up to every hour between Montrose and Ellon using the AWPR. The service will operate from Montrose to Stonehaven before serving Kingswells Park and Ride and Aberdeen Airport. The service will then continue to Ellon and some journeys will also extend to Cruden Bay and Peterhead. The service will be operated by low-floor easy access buses fitted with the latest tracking technology as well as the ability to accept contactless payments.

Revisions to service 10 and 35 operating from Aberdeen to Moray will benefit from improved journey times as well as additional journeys as peak times providing more capacity for those commuting to Aberdeen. Service 35 will also begin to serve the Deveron Community and Sports Centre on some journeys. This bus connection to the swimming pool, fitness suite, sports courts, running track and climbing wall will mean the Centre is even more accessible for those looking to visit the facility. Some minor revisions have also been made to services 32, 33, 34, 36 and 38 in the Moray area to improve punctuality.

David Liston, Managing Director, Stagecoach North Scotland said: “These proposals are the result of a review of the network following the improvements in infrastructure around Aberdeen. On-going feedback from our customers, staff and local stakeholders has helped shape the proposed network but we are now delighted to share these for further feedback before we finalise our plans for the bus network. The importance of frequent connections between Aberdeen and Buchan is clear and our proposals will maintain this high frequency link north of the city with a series of enhancements to the services to the north.

“Following on from the success of our previous consultations, we are seeking customer feedback on our network in Aberdeenshire and Moray before services are registered. Our Moray bus network has also been influenced by the AWPR as the £745 million project will address congestion in Aberdeen allowing us to introduce revisions to service 35 and 10 operating to/from the city. These revisions have directly influenced onward bus connections in the Elgin local network. Customer comments do help us ensure that we have optimised departure times, routes and addressed as many of our customers wishes as possible. We will be grateful for customers to provide their comments before 21st September 2018.”

In addition to online feedback, the company will be holding consultation events to give the opportunity to discuss the proposals with staff.

Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th September – At Go North East Road Festival
Monday 10th September – Ellon Park and Ride 0630 – 0930, Fraserburgh Bus Station 1400 – 1600
Tuesday 11th September – Ellon Park and Ride 1430 – 1730, Ellon Parish Church 1800 – 2000
Tuesday 11th September – Moray Transport Forum
Thursday 13th September – Peterhead Interchange 1400 – 1600
Tuesday 18th September – St Giles Centre, Elgin 1430 – 1730

For those unable to attend the above events, the proposed timetables and network maps are now available to view at stagecoachbus.com, all feedback is welcomed to nscotmarketing@stagecoachbus.com. All feedback should be submitted no later than Friday 21st September 2018.