A raft of changes to bus services, which will primarily impact routes to and from Ninewells, have been revealed.
The changes in service have been revealed in Xplore Dundee’s 2020 service review.
The review shows that the changes, which come into effect on April 12, will lead to fewer buses running on Saturdays.
Services, 5,9 and 10, between Ninewells Hospital to Barnhill & Outer Circle will be cut back to a 15-minute cycle, which the firm claims will reflect the fewer number of passengers using the routes at the weekend compared to weekdays.
Meanwhile services 15/17, which run from the hospital to the city centre, and onto Whitfield, have been re-routed.
The review states: “These services have been re-routed in Whitfield so that both services run via Whitfield Drive, Longhaugh Road, Berwick Drive, Ballumbie Road, Drumgeith Road, Summerfield Avenue and terminate at The Crescent.
“Since implementing the clockwise/anti-clockwise loop system around Whitfield in January 2019, around 20% of passengers have opted to take advantage of quicker journeys into town from from the Hawick Drive end of Whitfield. Operationally, however, this system has proven challenging ”
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“Going back to a linear route will allow us to create layover at The Crescent. These measures are intended to improve reliability.”
However, early morning commuters will benefit from revised timings for early morning rush hour trips, which will arrive in the city centre at more suitable times for workers.
The review said: “This makes it easier to transfer between buses in the city centre for onward travel to Ninewells Hospital.”
And the number 17 will now run directly in and out of Ninewells Hospital, a measure designed to speed up journey times and improve reliability.
Bill Bowman, North East MSP, said: “As with any changes to bus timetables, there will be winners and losers.
“But new timetables for Dundee seem to arrive more frequently than the buses.
“I welcome some of the changes which will accommodate early morning commuters through the week.
“However, cutting back on Saturday journeys will impact on weekend workers.
“More direct, early journeys to Ninewells Hospital should help with the parking issues and car park congestion, but time will tell.
“Patients and visitors will also get a raw deal when it comes to the weekend.”
Christine McGlasson, managing director, said: “We’ve re-timed a number of journeys so that they’ll arrive in the city centre at more suitable times – for example, it will become easier for those travelling onward to Ninewells Hospital to transfer between buses.
“Other buses are being re-routed or re-timed to make it easier to access key employers – for example, more services 5 and 9/10 will call at Sainsburys, the Technology Park and the Tesco call centre on Baird Avenue.
“We’ve also noticed that the number of people catching the bus drops at weekends and on public holidays, when many commuters traditionally take advantage of the opportunity to have a day off work.
“So we’ve reduced the frequency of daytime services slightly to reflect this pattern – however we’ve retained morning journeys at the same level, to ensure those workers unaffected by weekends and holidays can still travel as usual.”