X53 Stirling–Kinross

The X53 was a bus service between Stirling and Kinross, Scotland.

X53
Overview
OperatorFirst Scotland East
Began service14 September 2020 (2020-09-14)
Ended service9 January 2022 (2022-01-09)
Route
StartStirling
EndKinross

History

The route was introduced on 14 September 2020 as a partial replacement of the withdrawn 23 Stirling–St Andrews route operated by Stagecoach.[1]

In November 2021, First announced that the route would be suspended in January unless more drivers became available to operate it.[2][3] In early December, a local MSP Mark Ruskell met with First to discuss the withdrawal of the route. First continued to cite a lack of drivers as the reason for withdrawal.[4] On 15 December 2021, the planned withdrawal of the route was discussed during a debate in the Scottish Parliament.[5] However, on 20 December, First Bus confirmed that the route would be withdrawn as planned.[6][7] The route was suspended on 10 January 2022 during a timetable change that also saw the frequency of other routes reduced from half-hourly to hourly.[8][9]

A temporary service, numbered 202, was introduced by Perth and Kinross Council and Bay Travel on 10 January.[10] It runs between Kinross and Tillicoultry, where passengers can change for the First Bus service 52 to Stirling. The route will operate until March, at which time Bay Travel will assess the viability of continuing the service.[11][12]

Operation

The route was operated commercially by First.[4] It had a frequency of approximately one bus every two hours.[1]

References
  1. Bakonyi, Rajmund (24 August 2020). "First Bus to cover axed Hillfoots route with X53 new service". Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  2. Duncan, Emma (3 November 2021). "Driver shortages force suspension of buses in Perth and Kinross-shire". The Courier. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  3. Duncan, Emma (29 November 2021). "X53: Suspension of Kinross-shire bus service 'will leave people isolated'". The Courier. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  4. Scott, Katy (8 December 2021). "X53: MSP meets First over plans to cut 'essential' Kinross-shire bus service". The Courier. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  5. Vance, Ciaran (17 December 2021). "Debate over future of X53 bus service heard at Scottish Parliament". Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  6. Bonn, Melanie (23 December 2021). "'Lifeline' Kinross-shire bus service to be scrapped despite community backlash". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  7. Flett, Amie (21 December 2021). "First Bus confirms cancellation of 'lifeline' Kinross X53 bus route". The Courier. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  8. Borovská, Simi (9 January 2022). "First Bus will ruin Stirling and this planet". Brig Newspaper. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  9. McFarlane, Stuart (26 November 2021). "Hundreds sign petition to save X53 service set for New Year withdrawal". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  10. Flett, Amie (11 January 2022). "New bus launched to replace axed 'lifeline' Kinross-shire X53 service". The Courier. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  11. Vance, Ciaran (12 January 2022). "Bay Travel set up new Hillfoots bus route to replace X53". Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  12. "Perth & Kinross Council Twitter post". Twitter. 10 January 2022. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
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