Council expands in-house bus network to protect key Inverness routes

In-house team acts swiftly to protect essential travel links for residents and visitors.

From Thursday 19 February The Highland Council’s In-house bus team will be introducing a number of new routes including one covering the Dalneigh area of Inverness.

The move is in response to Stagecoach announcing that it plans to withdraw several key city bus services from Sunday 15 February

Chair of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Ken Gowans said: “In response to changes announced by Stagecoach, our in-house team have stepped in to create new services so residents and visitors can still enjoy regular and reliable public transport in and around Inverness.”

He added: “I’d like to thank our In-house bus team for their work to quickly response to the needs of communities. Having the ability to be flexible and to react to customer demands is one of main benefits of investing in council bus services.”

Chief Officer for Facilities and Fleet Paul Reid added: “We are pleased to be able to step in a provide a service for the communities affected by the pending changes. Our in house has worked to provide timetables based on our resource capability at this current time. Highland Council are committed to reviewing our Public Transport Network and providing solutions to our communities.

The new services that will be operating from Thursday 19 February are:

• 104 - Milton of Leys to Falcon Square.
• 107 -  Slackbuie to Bridge Street.
• 106 - Bruce Gardens in Dalneigh to Academy Street.

To make these changes, alterations have been made to the Council’s existing In-house bus services.

The existing 100 Inshes Service will end on 18 February and will be replaced with the new 104 service. Similarly, the 108 Shoppers bus will end on 17 February and be replaced by a combination of the new 104 and 107 services, depending on where passengers live.

The team will also be delivering the 404A Conon Bridge/Maryburgh service to and from Dingwall on school days only. This is primarily a school service for pupils living 3 miles or more from Dingwall Academy. Any other pupils wishing to use this service can do so if they show their NEC card when the board.

Details of the timetable will shortly be available on the Highland Council Buses dedicated webpage and Facebook page.