Bus passengers queued up to welcome the return of a popular service linking Hamilton and Glasgow – after years of campaigning to reconnect their communities.
New operator JMB Travel this week launched its X1 Glasgow Fast service, running 11 return journeys each weekday and 10 on Saturdays from Hillhouse, Earnock, Fairhill and Hamilton town centre into the city.
Passengers turned out in numbers for information roadshows held aboard the new and specially-branded vehicles just before the start of the new timetable, allowing them to meet drivers and find out about the new fares and timings as well as showing their support for the return of the service.
A busload turned out to celebrate the new service at Davington Drive in Earnock, where two years earlier the community had staged a demonstration calling for the reintroduction of the valued service connecting their area with the town centre and Glasgow.
Those keen to get on board included commuters, students and retired people, all of whom the new operators said were “looking forward to getting back on board” after nearly five years without the route, while further events in areas including Farm Road in Burnbank and at Quarry Street in the town centre also generated considerable interest.
Residents had campaigned for the resumption of the service ever since the previous X1 was withdrawn by then-operators First Bus in July 2020 due to low passenger numbers, with driver shortages then cited as a factor in being unable to reintroduce it.
JMB Travel managing director Martin Bell said: “We have been amazed by the amount of public support we have received since announcing our intention to introduce our Glasgow Fast X1 service.
“We’re proud to be connecting many of the communities in Hamilton to both the town centre and Glasgow, giving more choice and new journey options; we are confident that the new service will prove popular.”
A company spokesperson added: “The roadshows were really successful – we received lots of very positive feedback and it’s more apparent than ever that the local communities really missed the X1 when it was withdrawn nearly five years ago.
“It’s testament to the campaigners, alongside elected representatives, who never gave up and continued to lobby for someone to take the service on – and we are proud to be the bus operator to do just that.”
The first journeys between Hamilton and Glasgow took place on Monday morning, travelling from Hillhouse via Earnock, Fairhill, the bus station and town centre then to Glasgow in a scheduled 53-minute journey. Each day’s earliest bus leaves Farm Road at 6.38am, and the last departure is at 5.20pm with arrival back at the stop at 7.25pm. The first service of the day to arrive in the city does so at 7.30am and the last departure is at 6.30pm.
There are also 10 Saturday journeys, leaving Hillhouse between 7.37am and 5.17pm and departing Glasgow between 8.50am and 6.30pm.
After covering the Hamilton section of the route to serve local communities – with “short hop” journeys within the town costing £2 – the service takes 22 minutes to travel from the town to the city centre’s Cathedral Street and then Buchanan Bus Station.
Leaflets outlining the timetable and fares are being delivered this week to 14,000 homes across Hamilton. A one-way trip is £8 and unlimited travel is £9 per day or £38 per week, with the operators noting that under-22s and over-60s travel free with their respective concession passes. Passengers are able to pay in cash as well as by contactless payment or app.
News of the re-introduction of the valued service was greeted with hundreds of responses and questions online, and among those celebrating the return of the X1 is Monica Lennon, the Central Scotland MSP, who attended the busy roadshows which were called a “brilliant success”.
She was among cross-party politicians who supported residents’ calls for reintroduction of the transport route – saying it will positively “impact on locals, from students to pensioners” – and marked JMB’s announcement by lodging a motion at the Scottish Parliament.
It calls the withdrawal of the previous X1 Hamilton to Glasgow “a huge loss to the community” and “commends local residents and community groups, including Earnock residents’ association and the former Hillhouse community council, for fighting against the withdrawal of the X1 and not giving up”.
Ms Lennon’s motion – which has been supported by more than a dozen MSPs including Lanarkshire representatives Stephanie Callaghan, Clare Adamson and Graham Simpson – adds that: “The announcement by JMB Travel will particularly benefit residents in Hillhouse, High Earnock, Fairhill and Low Waters, support better connectivity between Hamilton town centre and Glasgow”, and “encourages people to make regular use” of the new service.
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