Stagecoach Bluebird has recently announced a proposed shake-up to its timetables across parts of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
The changes to the 4, 5, 6, 10, X20, 22, 37, 59 and 727 services aim to create faster and more consistent journeys.
Although the changes have been proposed with the intention of improving the travel experience for passengers, concerns have been raised about the exclusion of some communities.
Notably, the village of Blackburn appears to have been cut out of several routes.
Stagecoach is asking the public to share their views on the proposed changes to the bus network via email up until Sunday.
They have also hosted a number of public consultations with the final one scheduled to take place at Alford Hall on Wednesday from 3pm to 6pm.
The Press and Journal has compared the current timetables with the updated versions to identify all of the main changes.
The new timetables, if approved, are proposed to begin on Monday October 31.
How will the changes affect you? Let us know in the comments below or e-mail livenews@ajl.co.uk
Here is everything you need to know.
Services 9 and 10
The 9 between Inverurie and Aberdeen is being introduced to replace the additional service 10 buses, which were added in 2020.
There will be two “fast journeys” per hour between the two locations on the service 10 or the new 9. These will cover Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and the city centre, with service 9 buses also stopping in Blackburn.
The first bus will leave Aberdeen at 5.50am and arrive in Inverurie at 6.37am – an hour and 10 minutes earlier than the current first departure.
The earliest bus from Inverurie to Aberdeen will now depart at 5.40am rather than 6.42am.
A “small number” of journeys between Keith and Aberdeen will be cut, notably the 7.05am bus from Aberdeen Bus Station to Keith Square and the 9.14am bus which travels in the opposite direction.
The core service from Keith to Aberdeen and Elgin will not be affected by the changes.
Service 37
Some significant changes have been made to the service 37 timetable so it will now only operate between Inverurie and Kintore.
This means the service will no longer cover Aberdeen Bus Station, Foresterhill Hospital or Blackburn.
There will be one bus an hour from Inverurie Market Place to Kintore Post Office and vice versa.
The first bus will leave Inverurie at 5.14am during the week, instead of 5.33am, and the earliest bus from Kintore will be at 5.45am – just three minutes earlier than the current timetable.
There will be no 37 buses running after 7pm all week, which is significantly earlier than the current latest departure of 8.35pm from Inverurie.
Additional stops will introduced at Kintore Railway Station to allow customers to connect to rail services.
Service X20
The X20 service which covers Alford, Kemnay and Aberdeen has been revised to offer faster journeys into the city centre.
It will also now offer a direct connection from Kintore to Aberdeen.
Buses will travel via Hilton and Westburn, but will no longer go via Berryden Retail Park due to low usage.
Currently, the 218 service operates between Aberdeen and Alford, while the 220 and X20 also cover Kemnay and Kintore.
The proposed new timetable suggests there will no longer be any buses going via Blackburn.
The X20 will run 12 journeys from Union Square on weekdays but only five will go all the way to Alford. The rest will terminate at Kemnay, with one going on to Monymusk in the afternoon.
In the opposite direction, six buses will run between 6.29am and 9.29pm from Alford, while the other six will depart from Kemnay.
Stagecoach has said the update will provide “a faster, more consistent service for these communities, with the removal of stopping restrictions previously enforced on certain journeys”.
Service 22
Stagecoach Bluebird has proposed to withdraw the Inverurie town service.
The full service 22 route currently runs six times a day from 9.30am to 5.15pm and covers the Town Hall, Tesco store and Inverurie Hospital.
It was previously operated under contract by Aberdeenshire Council and was replaced by the Ready2Go Demand Responsive service last year.
A limited service has been running since August 2021 but passenger numbers can no longer cover the cost of operations.
Services 4, 5 and 6
Stagecoach says the three bus services operating between Aberdeen and Westhill have been revised to offer “faster and more consistent” journey times.
Stagecoach has said customers travelling from the Kingswells Park and Ride will benefit the most from the changes – with the ability to travel to the city centre in 27 minutes during the day.
The current timetable has 21 journeys scheduled before 8.30am, which will be reduced to 18. The timetable throughout the rest of the day is largely unchanged.
The number 4 service will still operate between Aberdeen and Countesswells with the earliest departure from the city centre now being 6.25am, rather than 5.55am.
The earliest bus from Aberdeen to Westhill will now leave at 4.50am rather than 4.40am.
Buses operating during typical commuter hours will also stop at the Prime Four Business Park and at Total Energies.
A new 5.45am 5A service from Aberdeen Bus Station will travel through Westhill and beyond to Echt.
Service 727
The 727 airport service will be revised to “improve punctuality and offer a more consistent experience” following analysis of the route.
There are no proposed changes to the frequency of the service and no significant time changes.
The earliest departure from Union Square through the week will still be 3am, with the service to run every 15 minutes throughout most of the day.
Buses will be available from Aberdeen Bus Station to Aberdeen International Airport until 11.35pm.
The service will also run frequently in the opposite direction with the earliest airport departure being 3.29am and the latest at 00:10am.
Service 727 will continue to offer connections to P&J Live and the Great Northern Road corridor.
Service 59
The proposed changes to the 59 service only impact the Saturday timetable.
Journeys between Balnagask and Northfield will now operate four times an hour throughout most of the day.
The bus travelling from the Northfield terminus to Balnagask will run every 15 minutes between 8am and 6pm. There will be frequent journeys from 6am until 11.40pm.
In the opposite direction, buses will operate every 15 minutes between 9am and 7pm. Again, the service will run buses frequently most of the day.
Stagecoach Bluebird said there has been a “significant increase” in demand for the service, which now operates exclusively with double deck buses.
Conversation