Tag: First Bus

By Achilleas Salaveris

 

More than 200 buses on East Scotland are run by a different operator, causing frustration to travellers.

Bus passengers in Stirling are hoping for a new start as First Bus Scotland is no longer the operator of the region. McGill’s has officially been announced to have bought First Scotland East bus business.

The agreement includes all First Bus deports in Livingstone; Larbert; Bannockburn; Balfron; as well as the Edinburgh open-top bus operation Bright Bus Tours. Also included in the agreement are over 200 buses that run in the region as well as approximately 550 members of staff.

From now on First Scotland will be operating in Aberdeen and Glasgow. As mentioned by the managing director of First Bus Scotland, Duncan Cameron “This scale is part of a strategic refocusing of our Scottish businesses with significant investment in zero emission buses in Glasgow and Aberdeen”.

He adds, “I’d like to thank our employees for their continued hard work to deliver the best experience possible for our customers across the First Scotland East business”. “We will be supporting them fully as they transfer to their new employer”.

CEO of McGill’s, Ralph Roberts quotes “We would like to welcome all First Scotland East employees into McGill’s family”. “We are pleased by the opportunity has arisen to acquire the business and we appreciate the efforts of the First Bus towards ensuring a smooth transition”.

However, this transition has not come without any problems. Many of the citizens of Stirling and especially university students have been complaining about the services. Some of the complaints are related to the duration of the trip from the city to the university’s campus.  Students blame the current roadworks on Causewayhead road, which are linked to Stirling’s Council Walk, Cycle Live Stirling scheme.

Complaints regarding the routes have also been posed by students. “I don’t understand why they don’t stop in the Union Street.” says a student living in university accommodation.

The change in the ownership has caused confusion among bus users as they do not know how to transfer their mobile ticketing to the new app. In an interview with a student, he described his experience. He mentions that he got informed by a driver, about the need to switch from the First Bus app to the McGill’s in order to keep his online tickets. Unfortunately, he downloaded the wrong application, which did not include the routes part of the East business. Consequently, the online ticketing did not transfer and until the confusion was resolved he was forced to explain the situation to every bus driver, every time.