Fife Council to spend £749,000 surveying possible improvements on Dunfermline buses

The money will be spent reviewing some services around Dunfermline.

The funding is a result of Fife’ s successful bid by its ‘Bus Partnership’ and aims to deliver bus priority measures that will reduce the impact of congestion on bus services, improve journeys times and increase bus use in the area.

Fife council says the funding will be used for “consultations and scoping exercises to consider bus priority proposals with ambition to both improve bus service reliability and increase local bus usage across the region”.

However, the surveys will be limited to just Dunfermline and the west Fife area, on such routes as: Cowdenbeath to Halbeath Park & Ride, Halbeath Park & Ride to Dunfermline, Dunfermline Town Centre, Dunfermline to Kincardine, Dunfermline to Ferrytoll Park & Ride Via Rosyth/Dulloch Park, Aberbour to Inverkeithing.

The initial funding will only be used to put together a further bid to Transport Scotland to then make any improvement works.

A further announcement is expected on Fife’s bid for Central and North Fife bus corridors, which are still under consideration.

Cllr Altany Craik, Economy, Tourism, Strategic Planning & Transportation Convener, said: “This is the first stage in taking these important proposals forward.

"Through this funding we aim to improve public transport services and infrastructure for people who live, work and visit Fife.

"We are now developing proposals so that residents and visitors can benefit from better journey times, a more reliable service and reduced congestion.

“The Fund focuses on how bus services will be improved by addressing congestion. "

Douglas Robertson, Managing Director, Stagecoach East Scotland said: "The Fife Bus Partnership has worked hard to secure this funding through Transport Scotland's Bus Priority Fund, so it's fantastic news to have been awarded funding to appraise and take forward some key priority measures. Already operating high quality and award-winning bus services across Fife, Stagecoach bus services are vital in keeping our communities connected through sustainable methods."

Fife has also been successful as part of the Tayside Bus Alliance bid with funding allocated to take forward an appraisal of the bus corridors in that region including the St Andrews to Dundee.