STAGECOACH in FIFE SERVICE CHANGES 8 JULY 2002 CLICK HERE
UPDATED WITH ALL THE LATEST HAPPENINGS!

Tuesday 30 July 2002
Travel Dundee had their first low-floor vehicle on Service 51 to Fowlis today. The extra 0.2m of vehicle length - over the longest step-entrance Dart (10m) in the fleet - was shown at the tight turn at Liff Hospital, where a 90-degree turn has just got worse by removing the reflex mirror!

Dennis Dart SLF 121 - the only one of its kind at Travel Dundee, and also the last vehicle purchased new by Taybus Holdings (when it, and step-entrance Dart 120 arrived shortly after MetroRiders 206-208) - is seen here at Fowlis.

Monday 29 July 2002
A trip around Perth, Alyth, Kirriemuir, Arbroath, and Dundee today - here's a few of what I saw!

	Left 29 seater Mercedes minibuses are being accumulated - again - at Perth. Four Wright-bodied 811D's are here, two painted into old and two in new colours. Here is 249 at Pullar House preparing for a run around the Scone area. Right Meffan are now using F276 KVW on Service 128 Alyth - Blairgowrie again - seen here behind the Peter Pan statue in Kirrie.
	Left Leyland Tiger 417 - the one without a blue rear end - is seen here at Kirriemuir High Street. The advertising is partly obscuring the company logos!!! Right Strathtay MCW Metrorider 157 at Arbroath Kirk Square. Like 410, this has recieved a white grille panel from a scrapped vehicle.

Friday 26 July 2002
A couple of photos taken in Dundee today...

Left Strathtay 410 was recently re-shaped at the front - still with the Duple Laser 2 front, but incorporating a grille panel from a scrapped Duple 320 (426?)! It is currently "on loan" to Forfar (from Dundee), as it has been (on & off) for several months. It now looks somewhat different - especially on the offside/front where the orange stripes now "stop"! Right Travel Dundee 151 was on Service 88 replacing Dart 121 which was in the depot. Bus seen at Sainsbury's Baldovie, on the last run of the day at 1630.

Thursday 25 July 2002
Trip round Perth, Crieff & Stirling - today.

	Left Stagecoach in Perth Volvo B10M/Plaxton 528 has already been pictured here a few weeks back, in Dundee on Service 16. Here, the bus is seen in Crieff, before a run to Dunblane via Kinbuck. Right Earnside Coaches Volvo/Plaxton L6 TCC was dropping off from a private hire in the early evening - seen at Kinnoull Street outside the former Sandeman Library.
	Caber Coaches have been running the two-evenings-a-week Service 89 from Kenmore via Aberfeldy to Perth, since early 1999. However, in one week's time, the service will run for it's final time. Major improvements to Stagecoach's "north road" services will see a bus from Aberfeldy more direct to Perth, and a Pitlochry shuttle. However, this is the first time that (I've seen) ex-CentreWest/Leicester Renault S75 HDZ 5489 has been used on this route! It has been many years since the bus war that saw Stagecoach and Strathtay minibuses - Renault's with the latter - chasing around the city streets! Left at Tesco Superstore, Crieff Road. Right at Mill Street.

Wednesday 24 July 2002
Travel Dundee have been running the 51 Dundee - Fowlis service for over two months now - but there is around 3 weeks left on the current emergency contract.

	Three images of MetroRiders in Fowlis. Firstly, MetroRider 206 at Fowlis Green. Secondly, 207 seen at Fowlis Church, then secondly coming around the new houses, that make the "bus turning point" a bit longer, towards the "green".
	Speaking of Dundee, six days ago I was in St Andrews. I mentioned that I'd not yet seen Fife 920 in the new livery. Well, I have now! Here it is today, at Dundee Bus Station.

Tuesday 23 July 2002
The "Perth Park & Ride" vehicles now have proper Park & Ride destination displays, as opposed to stick-ons. It also looks like new route number blinds also - are they?

Left The Park & Ride service is gradully getting busier - for a service established just over six weeks... RBZ seen leaving Mill Street in the afternoon. Right On the left - Fife 592 in new livery, with its current registration of WLT 415, in New Row/York Place.

Monday 22 July 2002
I'm back! North Weald had two ex-Scottish buses - one of which is "celebrating" its 40th birthday this year. These two rally photos were taken yesterday (21 July 2002).

	On the left - AEC Routemaster 601 with Stagecoach (Perth) - still carrying some of it's Stagecoach lettering, with new Perth Panther logos added to the vehicle. On the left, a Maidstone & District Ailsa - of this batch of prototypes, all ran for various parts of A1 Service (when it was a co-operative company) at one time or another.
	It was a Dundee public holiday today. Normally on public holidays, the yellow 9x/10x buses are kept for this route. However, 147 is seen here at Dryburgh operating Service 11 of the Outer Circle.

Friday 19 July 2002
I'm away south of the border for 24 hours tommorrow - for the North Weald rally. To keep you going in the meantime, here is a hairy one I nabbed in Dundee today...

Not the first time this has happened - but the 55 daytime service (which, on weekdays, then works onto the 4A) seems to be getting anything BUT the usual Optare MetroRiders. Here, Volvo Citybus 95 is seen on the 4A at Camperdown UGC Cinema.

Thursday 18 July 2002
Had a spin to St Andrews this afternoon - nabbed a few photos!

Firstly, Smith & Sons new DAF's and Darts have been shown for "Park & Ride" have been shown recently on the site. For a change, here is one of their (mini)coaches - as it got to St Andrews this afternoon. It is seen in Market Street, diagonally opposite the new Subway fast food outlet!
Leyland Titan 1103 works the St Andrews open top bus tour. Here, it is seen loading up at the Church Street termnus.
Volvo Citybuses number four at St Andrews - three "buses", and former Coastliner coach (and regular X96 bus for a while!) 920. The latter has just been painted, and was not seen. However, here is 988 at Madras College, South Street.

Saturday 13 July 2002
T In The Park weekend continues, as I travelled around Fife today. Lots of new services etc. as you may well have read above, or in the Dundee Bus Bulletin ! Anyway, after Fife had a look at the T In The Park shuttle service from Edinburgh to the site.

	Since the X24 commenced nine years ago, it has always ran Dundee-Glasgow - until now! Now, it diverts at Glenrothes to serve Cupar and St Andrews. Service X26 has not ran to St Andrews since the X24 was introduced - passengers have had to change buses for Glasgow at Glenrothes. The X26/X27 was extended when the X57 came off, with all X26/X27 buses running along the coast to Anstruther. Now. all display X26, and continue beyond Anstruther via former Service 61 to St Andrews.
	Titan 749 is the first Stagecoach in Fife Leyland Titan to be repainted into the new corporate livery. The vehicle is seen on the layover area at Glenrothes Kingdom Centre Bus Station. For a rear shot of the bus click here.
	Volvo Citybus 973 is seen leaving Glenrothes for Perth, on Service 36.
	Above, I mentioned about the X24 being diverted to St Andrews - well, the X59 now curtails at Cupar. The vehicle 5XX is seen at Kirkcaldy, leaving for Cupar. Also, showing that Leyland Titans are not yet dead at Aberhill (a LONG way to go, but the Volvo Olympians are now more commonly on the 6/7 coast services) - 770 at Kirkcaldy bus station on the 6.
	T In The Park weekend continued, as the Edinburgh shittle was being worked by a wide variety of vehicles and operators. Here are a DAF/Optate Delta from Munro, Jedburgh, and a Leyland Titan from Rennie's. Also working the route were First (Edinburgh) and Stagecoach (Perth and Fife).

Friday 12 July 2002
It is T In The Park weekend. Scotland's biggest music festival - and a high capacity, high frequency series of shuttle buses. Scottish Citylink are the chief organiser this year, with 601 Glasgow, 602 Edinburgh, 603 Perth shuttles, plus single-journey coaches from further afield, as well as a shuttle bus from Kinross town centre. Today, I had a trip round parts of rural Perthshire, with an afternoon stop in Perth bus station, to view the Strathtay-based input into the service.

		Firstly.... Strathtay 62A (Blairgowrie - Spittalfield - Murthly) - two return trips on Fridays - is heading for change. Apparently, the 62A will now run to Dunkeld, like the Service 62 on other days of the week. Well, the Murtly extension was requested by locals, but when I did the afternoon return trip from Blair to Murthly and back, we had just one other person from Blair to Snaigow cross roads! Anyway, a slightly interesting section to Murthly - over the Stagecoach 34 - and across the River Tay at Caputh. Aah well, grab it while you can!
		A few weeks ago, I showed a picture of Strathtay 922 at Blairgowrie, about to work the 1430 to Perth 58. As it is not a school day, the trip this time was done by East Lancs Spryte-bodied Dart SLF 317. One other passenger, who got off quite early. But - as soon as we cleared Carsie, the rain and the wind come down like a storm - complete with thunder and ligthening at various points! This is the 10th of July, not the 10th of January (when the water froze, and turned the car park in Dunkeld into an ice rink!) Anyway, the driver did exeptionally well to keep up through the rain. When we got to Guildtown, the rain had abbated, and we picked up another at Bridgend, before I alighted in Perth city centre.
"Typical T In The Park weather!" said a member of Strathtay management, upon arrival at Perth bus station (not long after I'd got there!) However, the rain had somehow managed to stay away from Balado! 5 Strathtay vehicles, comprising three bus Metrobuses, one coach Metrobus 809, and Olympian 925, all worked throughout the afternoon. Here are a few shots of various vehicles working off the bus station... The 800 batch (801-808) all worked from Perth when Perth depot transferred from Midland Scottish in 1985, to Strathtay - and then, when Perth closed in 1993 - all the SM1-8/801-8 came to dundee. 809-11 are now at Dundee, but were new to Blairgowrie for services into Perth & Dundee. Seen below are 809, 925 & 805.
		On the left Stagecoach in Perth had MAN single decker 713 working the 17 to Dunning - usually a minibus (or PS type on the morning & Afternoon school workings). Docherty's Midland Coaches working W816 OSL on the 19 Perth - Blackford on the right. DMC will not be operating the 18 Crieff - Dunning service from August (bar a school journey), when it will be assumed by Sweeny's. Strathtay ran the service (for the first year, as 28/28A) from 1985 to 1991, then Dochertys have now run it for close to 11 years.
		On the left Smith & Sons have cquired a Dart SLF/UVG as the back-up bus for the Park & Ride. The vehicle is R567 UOT, Dennis Dart SLF/UVG ex-Ashton Express. On the right Just before heading home, Stagecoach in Perth brought Mercedes mini 299 (the only 814D - with a 33-seater minicoach body) into Perth Bus Station, to work the 14 to Pitcairngreen (evening subsidised journeys start from the Bus Station).

Thursday 11 July 2002
I've been rushing off my feet (was up until 3 this morning!) typing up the latest Dundee Bus Bulletin. It's a 32-page extra-long special this time (usually 20 pages!), with a total of 30 photos (7 in colour!) Well worth £1.40 in anyone's money, even if I do say so myself..... if you are interested in the DBB, e-mail me directly to scotbus@bigfoot.com and I shall send you all the gen!

	Strathtay's latest purchase is Mercedes Vario 220 (V20 CBC). New to Coakley Bus, the bus passed to Ashall Coaches, Clayton, before coming back to Scotland, onto Strathtay. Following a paint-job, and fitting seatbelts to all 31 seats (council requirements for school buses), the bus generally works Service 47A (Montrose Station - Borrowfield) during the main part of the day (between about 0928 & 1628 ex Railway Station). The bus also carries a rear number display... unfortunatly, when the bus went onto the 29 in the evening (1745 round trip), no-one told the driver as the bus drove off with 47A still in the back!
	Of course, before the 47A duty needed a 31-seater, its regular bus was 151 - now the regular on Brechin town service. While the 47A is getting a new bus, the 34 Brechin Town Service has been reallocated from Montrose to Arbroath depots. The latter is a little further away... but still driveable to. The school run that used to be inter-worked with the 34 bus (Dun Primary School) is now to be done by another operator, so when the schools go back, the allocation of the 34 might vary... Anyway, the same bus (Optare MetroRider 151) is seen here, about to do the last (1715) circle around Eddie Avenue etc.

Monday 8 July 2002

Following the Fife service changes (that started today!) Stagecoach in Fife are using a double-decker from Glenrothes on the 1715 ex Dundee. The journey appears to be tied in with a school run in the Ladybank area, during school terms. The bus is seen backing off from Dundee bus station - you can just make out the resurfacing work going on in the background.

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