First Aberdeen gears up to ramp up city services

The new timetables will see increases in frequency on many First Aberdeen services

First Aberdeen is preparing to increase its bus services from Monday.

The King Street-based transport firm said it is offering more services to support the Scottish Government’s physical distancing guidance for passengers who need to use public transport.

It follows further funding being made available to bus operators to support the increase of services across Scotland by Transport Scotland and announced by transport secretary Michael Matheson on Friday.

The cash boost follows on from the current scheme that due to came to a halt in June and will provide an extra £47 million to support an increase in bus services across Scotland.

Andrew Jarvis, First Bus managing director has welcomed the extra funding

It is because the two metre physical distancing measures limit the capacity on-board and will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

The new timetables will see increases in frequency on many First Aberdeen services to provide more buses and therefore more journeys along the routes.

Weekend services will also see some increases, to try and match the demand for services by customers.

Face coverings are now mandatory on public transport in Scotland including on bus services.

Andrew Jarvis, managing director at First Aberdeen, said: “We welcome the additional funding from Transport Scotland, which will enable us to increase services and support the continued wellbeing of our customers and drivers through ensuring safe travel on our buses.

“This is critical as more employees start returning to work following the government’s announcement that some non-essential shops can reopen on the 29th June.

“All our vehicles are now fitted with measures to ensure that customers who need to travel can adhere to the Government physical distancing guidelines. This includes signage to advise customers on where to sit to keep a safe distance and new technology to help drivers monitor the number of people on board at any one time.

“We are working very closely with the Transport Scotland, and all other stakeholders to ensure that we continue to provide an appropriate level of service and information for those who use the bus.

“We expect there will still be occasions when customers may not be able to board their intended journey due to capacity levels being reached. We are therefore advising people to check their journey details in advance on our app, avoid busier periods which are currently the afternoon and allow extra time for their journey as they may need to wait if their bus is full when it arrives.

Full details of the service improvements will be on the First Aberdeen website from tomorrow and passengers are urged to visit www.firstaberdeen.com for details.