Xplore Dundee has announced a series of changes to bus routes and timetables from January in a bid to make services more reliable.
Among those affected is the number 33, which travels along Forfar Road and is regularly affected by congestion on the A90.
Bosses say the changes – which come into effect on January 4 – will ensure services run on time more often.
The move comes just weeks after Xplore was forced to cut some services as a result of a driver shortage.
Christine McGlasson, managing director of the firm, said: “We always monitor our network for changing travel patterns and ways to make the network more efficient and reliable.
“These changes reflect what we’ve observed during the past few weeks, and also take into account customer feedback and passenger numbers.”
She added: “We’re hoping for significant improvements on service 33 in particular, which is often severely impacted by unpredictable traffic levels on the A90 Forfar Road.
“It’s simply proving extremely difficult to run a reliable bus service via this highly congested trunk road, so while we are still serving the main usage areas around the A90, we have re-routed service 33 away from the main road as much as possible and expect to see punctuality and reliability improve greatly.”
What changes will be made to Xplore bus services?
Xplore as detailed the changes being made to services across Dundee. These include:
- Ninewells circular services 6a/6c will be withdrawn and replaced by a new, simplified service 6. It will run hourly throughout the day, Monday to Saturday, and the route will run from the city centre to Ninewells Hospital (via Blackness Road, Tullideph Road, Elmwood and Gowrie Park). Many areas currently served by the 6a/6c will retain their connections to Tesco on South Road, with a link to the supermarket for residents around Blackness Road.
- Services 9/10 will be renumbered to run as service 10 both ways. Service 10 will continue to interwork with service 5a at Broughty Ferry.
- Services 10 and 28 will run a one-way (clockwise) circuit in Charleston via Craigowan Road, Craigard Road and South Road – avoiding the need for buses to meet on Craigowan Road.
- Service 23 will be re-routed via Clepington Road and Forfar Road (instead of Arklay Street and Arthurstone Terrace) to provide a daytime service in the Maryfield area. Arklay Street/Arthurstone continue to be served by service 18 (Arklay Street) and service 22 (Arthurstone Terrace).
- Service 33 will be re-routed via Pitkerro Road and Fountainbleau Drive (instead of Forfar Road) and will start/finish at Commercial Street (instead of Crichton Street).
The firm also says that services 1, 2, 5/5a, 17, 18, 22, 28 and 32 will have some timetable changes in an attempt to improve punctuality.
Xplore says that further details and updated timetable information is available on its website, on its mobile app and at its travel centre on Commercial Street.
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