| The Perth-based transport firm has struck a deal with the Bland Group, which could see planning applications for terminals at Kirkcaldy and Portobello submitted to Fife and City of Edinburgh councils by the end of the year.
Both Stagecoach and the Bland Group, which owns hovercraft manufacturer Griffon Hoverwork Ltd, have also pledged to each inject £7 million into creating a permanent cross-Forth passenger service.
The announcement comes after Stagecoach held a successful trial between Kirkcaldy and Portobello in the summer of 2007, with more than 32,000 passengers using the ForthFast service.
Stagecoach believes the proposed service — which will offer journey times of less than 20 minutes — could carry 870,000 passengers per year.
Residents on both sides of the Forth are now expected to be consulted over the prospect of a permanent hovercraft link.
Stagecoach Group chief executive Brian Souter said the agreement demonstrated the firm’s commitment to operating services over the water.
“We are delighted to have a joint venture partner and significant private sector funding now in place,” he said. “This is a further step forward in our plans.
“Securing planning permission is a critical element of the project, and we will be looking to progress this while continuing our discussions on public sector support.”
James Gaggero, chairman of Bland Group, said he was delighted to have secured the joint venture agreement.
He said, “We look forward to working with Stagecoach and the planning authorities to introduce commercial hovercraft to Scotland and build on the successful trial in 2007.”
Under the agreement reached by Stagecoach and Bland Group, the latter would build and operate the two hovercraft required for the service.
Crossings are expected to be made every 25 minutes at peak times and every hour off-peak, while the 150-passenger craft will be equipped with the latest propeller technology to ensure low noise levels.
Like the 2007 trial, Stagecoach hopes to use its former bus depot at Invertiel, Kirkcaldy, for departures and arrivals in Fife, while land adjacent to the Lothian Buses depot in Portobello’s Seafield Road has been earmarked for the use in the capital.
The service would also be integrated with bus links on both sides, including shuttles from Portobello to Ocean Terminal in Leith and Waverley Bridge in the capital.
While both Stagecoach and the Bland Group have committed £7 million each to the project, there is still likely to be issues around public sector funding which will need to be ironed out.
Fife and Edinburgh councils are currently in talks to put proposals for a cross-Forth hovercraft service out to tender, with the City of Edinburgh Council expressing the view that a ferry service between Burntisland and Granton is likely to be the most commercially viable option to be pursued.
However, Stagecoach said today it supports the proposed Burntisland-Granton service, and that there is scope for both transport links.
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