Latest news with #FirstBus'
Glasgow Times
a day ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
First Bus to change timetables for services across Glasgow
The new timetables will affect 25 routes across Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire starting from Sunday, June 15, as part of the company's efforts to improve punctuality and reliability using artificial intelligence. AI software has already delivered an average punctuality improvement of 8.5 per cent across more than 60 routes. Read more: £1 million project to test AI's effectiveness in Scottish NHS First Bus believes that further updates using the technology will create an even better service for its customers. Chris Coleman, head of network for First Bus in Scotland, said: "This is a significant package of improvements for our customers across Lanarkshire and Glasgow. "We want to provide a service that is reliable, consistent and, most importantly, on time. "Congestion throughout Greater Glasgow has increased greatly in recent years and this has had a hugely negative impact on bus services in the city. "We recognise the importance of building timetables that fit with the current live road conditions, so our customers know when their bus will arrive. "These adjustments we are making to the timetables will achieve that while allowing us to serve as many people as possible." AI-driven technology, combined with First Bus' network planning expertise, is being used to create timetables that better reflect real-world conditions, including traffic and congestion. Among the route changes, services 18 and 21 will be updated. Alternate service 18 buses will now travel from East Kilbride bus station to Gardenhall under the new 18A route. As a result, service 21 will now operate only between East Kilbride bus station and Cochrane Street in Glasgow city centre. In addition, service 201 has been extended from Hairmyres Hospital to Lidl on Eaglesham Road and the new Hairmyres railway station. Other services with additional journeys include the 226, 263, 266, X4, and X11. Further routes affected by the updates include the 2, 3, 6, 6A, 8, 11, 16, 18, 18A, 21, 77, 81, 90, 201, 226, 240, 241, 242, 255, 263, 266, 267, X4, X11, and U1. Read more: Glasgow workers hail first-of-a-kind celebration at bus depot First Bus aim to update physical timetable displays at stops as soon as possible. However, due to the scale of the changes, the company is encouraging passengers to use the First Bus app for the latest timetable information and live bus tracking. Full details of the updated timetables are available on the First Bus website.
BBC News
08-04-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
First Bus announces 'phenomenal' change to be rolled out next year
More than £90m is being invested in 160 new electric buses, creating "smoother, quieter and greener journeys". The new fleet will operate across Bristol, Somerset and Wiltshire by next summer as part of First Bus' mission to cut its emissions over the next ten will also be electrified at Bath's Weston Island and Lawrence Hill in Bristol during the project, which is jointly funded by First Bus and the government. Doug Claringbold, managing director for First Bus in the West, said: "We're now a year away from nearly half our fleet being electric and nearly all our depots being electrified – that's a phenomenal achievement." The investment brings the region's total number of electric buses to 258, First Bus will serve 750,000 passengers per week on 37 £59m has already been invested in electrifying 98 buses and two depots at Hengrove in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare."Last month there was a real buzz among our teams, customers and stakeholders when we officially unveiled our electrified depot at Weston-super-Mare and passengers took their first journeys on our electric buses, and I cannot wait for even more of our region to go electric," Mr Claringbold said."To be more than doubling the number of electric vehicles, transforming four out of five of our depots and ensuring three quarters of a million customers a week can travel electric shows a real commitment to making bus travel smoother, quieter and greener for our region."First Bus invested nearly £70m in the project, with a further £20m government funding from the latest round of the Department for Transport's Zero Emission Bus Regional Area scheme.
