Well established Citylink coach services continue to serve the Saltire Cross network of routes linking Glasgow and Edinburgh with Aberdeen and Inverness with Perth Broxden as the central node point. Frequency of these services was considerably increased from Spring 2024, especially at weekends.
Citylink operators on these routes include the following: Stagecoach, D&E Coaches, McLeans Coaches, Central Coaches, Simpsons Coaches, Parks of Hamilton and West Coast Motors. It’s not unusual for vehicles to be used in the operator’s own colours, and with quite a wide variation in style and internal layouts. Several Citylink operators have introduced new vehicles this year. Most eyecatching of these is possibly the Volvo 9700DD double-deck coaches operated by Stagecoach in either Citylink or Megabus liveries.
Other operators have added further services north of the central belt during this year, with some differences to established stopping patterns. FlixBus, operated by McGills in Scotland, reached Inverness in Spring, having previously established their services to Aberdeen. They have been offering some very low fares to encourage growth in passenger numbers.
In October, Ember extended their innovative entirely electric coach network north from Dundee to Aberdeen, and have outlined plans for further expansion.
The extra capacity provided by these services has been useful during the period when rail services were subject to a reduced timetable and experiencing various cancellations. Now with up to 3 coach departures per hour from Inverness to the Central Belt, waiting and transfer times are significantly reduced, resulting in some overall journey times by coach becoming quicker than by train. Popular park and ride connections include Halbeath Interchange with frequent connections to Edinburgh Airport, and Broxden for Perth city.
Note that scheduled bus and coach services in Scotland are available free to over 60s, under 22s, and for disabled, including those who have been told not to drive on medical grounds. There is a small charge for advance booking.
However, the Megabus brand of Citylink has responded to recent pressures from competition. Quoting low passenger demand, Megabus has contacted its customers to explain extensive cut backs in its internal England & Wales network from 4th December 2024.
The following Megabus services will continue to operate:
– all services within Scotland (under the Scottish Citylink and Megabus brands)
– all cross-border services between Scotland and England and Wales
– all Falcon services in the Southwest of England
