First roll out new look buses and bus services in Falkirk area

From May 20 the X35, which will replace the old 4B service, will cover Falkirk to Glasgow via Bonnybridge, Dennyloanhead, Haggs, Banknock, Banton, Kilsyth and Croy.

Buses will run every hour during the day and in the early evenings on Mondays to Saturdays, maintaining the existing frequency currently offered on route 4B, while offering new and direct hourly links with Glasgow City Centre.

The two early morning links between Croy and Cumbernauld Town Centre that service 4B provides on Saturdays will also be maintained by service X35.

The new X36 service will run from Stirling to Glasgow via Denny, Dennyloanhead, Haggs, Cumbernauld Village and Cumbernauld Town Centre.

Service X36’s revised route within Cumbernauld will operate via North Carbrain Road – offering better access to the Antonine Shopping Centre, New College Lanarkshire, Tryst Sports Centre and the New Town Hall. As a result, the stops at Cumbernauld Town Centre will no longer be served.

The service is also altered to serve Condorrat – Etive Drive and Main Road – and Mollinsburn. Buses will then run non-stop from Mollins Interchange via the M80/M8 motorways into Glasgow City Centre.

Service X36 will continue to operate every 30 minutes during the day on Mondays to Saturdays, and every 60 minutes during the day on Sundays.

The nightly evening service will reduce in frequency from 60 to 90 minutes, however, the timetable has been extended to offer later journey opportunities from Glasgow back to Stirling, including a new late-night departure at 11.30pm from Glasgow on Mondays to Saturdays.

Service X37 will run from Falkirk to Glasgow via Bonnybridge, Allandale, Cumbernauld Village and Cumbernauld Town Centre.

The route of service X37 remains unchanged, however, the daily frequency will revert back to hourly following insufficient demand to support the cost of running the route on a half-hourly basis.

For passengers located along the sections of route between Falkirk and Bonnybridge, and between Condorrat and Crow Wood, service X35 and X37 will offer a half-hourly service to Falkirk and Glasgow on a combined basis.

Andrew Jarvis, First Midland managing director, said: “These improvements provide new direct links to Glasgow from Stirling, Falkirk and Cumbernauld. Customers in these areas will benefit from better route coverage as well as a refurbished fleet with a fresh look, and 4G WIFI.

“This represents improvements in most areas and the changes to these services are based on customer feedback, so I hope the public get behind these new services to ensure their commercial viability going forward.”

Visit www.firstgroup.com for more information on the new services.