Bus timetable changes - more information

12 April 2017

Timetable changes proposed by Stagecoach, with minimal consultation, in February, are due to come into effect on 24 April.

The main changes are that Culbokie loses the commuter service which was provided by the diversion of some Inverness – Tain services through the village, Stagecoach 21 and 22 services are taken over by D&E Coaches, and the 26 service from Fortrose to Inverness is reduced.

Services 25X and 25U  Inverness - Tain
These services will no longer run via Culbokie at morning and evening times which provided a commuter service between Culbokie and Inverness, which will no longer be available.

Previous service 21 Dingwall – Cromarty
Stagecoach service 21 becomes D&E service 405.  Download timetable.
Instead of the 'demand responsive' service offered by Stagecoach, under which the routes of some buses could be altered by prior demand, the 12.05 and 14.05 departures from Dingwall and the 09.25 and 13.10 from Cromarty will run via Resolis and Culbokie on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and via Fortrose, Munlochy and Tore on Tuesday and Thursday.  Afternoon services to Culbokie and Resolis seem largely unchanged, with variations for school holidays.  A new early and late service is introduced from Inverness to Cromarty at 06.45 and Cromarty to Inverness at 18.40.
This is not an easy timetable to understand.

Previous service 22 Inverness – Culbokie
Stagecoach service 22 becomes D&E service 408.  Download timetable.
http://www.decoaches.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Service-408-TIMETABLE-24.4.17.pdf
This service is similar to 22, but late afternoon departures from Inverness at 17.40 and Culbokie at 18.10 have been dropped.

D&E service 408A  Culbokie–Resolis School  schooldays only.  Download timetable.

Service 26 Inverness – Cromarty
The main change here is that Stagecoach have dropped the additional half-hourly service from Fortrose, reducing to an hourly service over the whole route.  The 20.24 departure from Inverness is re-timed to 20.20, which increases the likely difficulty of connecting with the London train, and the 23.24 departure is dropped.
This is replaced by D&E service 410 at the same time.  Download timetable.

All new Stagecoach Black Isle timetables from 24 April are published as a single document, available as a pdf download now or a printed booklet later.