Aberdeen bus priority scheme hailed a success

First Bus and Stagecoach have claimed improvements to bus punctuality two months after the introduction of bus priority routes in Aberdeen.

It came as Scottish Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop met yesterday with the North East Bus Alliance (NEBA) to mark the £10 million infrastructure changes which were made possible via the Government’s Bus Partnership Fund (BPF).

Following the redesign’s opening on 22 August, almost 600,000 passengers per month have benefited from better services as a result, say the operators. First Bus claims a 3% improvement in punctuality with 95% of services using the bus priority measures operating on time. Stagecoach also reports improvements, with punctuality improving by 3% on the popular 727 route.

Both operators are gathering further data to support future similar enhancements.

NEBA, which is a partnership including regional transport partnership Nestrans, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City Councils, First Aberdeen and Stagecoach Bluebird, won a £12 million BPF bid in 2021 and a further £200,000 in April 2023.

The BPF was set up by Transport Scotland in 2020 but the scheme has faced criticism over the fact that, as of April 2023, only £26 million of the available £500 million had been allocated.

Robert Andrew, chair of the North East Bus Alliance, says: “Over a million  bus passengers have experienced real benefits since the new bus priority route was implemented two months ago, endorsing this first stage of our ambitions to regenerate and transform public transport provision in the North East.

“It is great to see that the city centre bus priority is already making an impact. Looking ahead, the delivery of these early measures is key to improving public transport provision and the future success of an Aberdeen Rapid Transit system (ART), which will connect key destinations across the region.

“Our successful bids to the Bus Partnership Fund have been instrumental in enabling these works. I am delighted that we’ve been able welcome the transport minister and demonstrate the success so far. As an alliance, we are working closely with Transport Scotland to discuss future opportunities to maximise further investment, and improvements, through the BPF.”

Ms Hyslop adds: “I’m really pleased to see first-hand how the bus gates in Aberdeen City Centre are already delivering for the millions of bus passengers that travel through the city every year. I also welcome the wider work underway with the North East Bus Alliance to encourage more bus use, including the ongoing work on ART, the national importance of which is recognised in our National Planning Framework and second Strategic Transport Projects Review.

“ART will provide an attractive and transformative public transport offer to people in the North East, supporting the wider investment that the Scottish Government is making in the area.

“Investing in our public transport and infrastructure is crucial to achieving our world leading commitment to reduce car kilometres by 20% by 2030. I look forward to seeing similar transformational investment right across the country through our Bus Partnership Fund.”