Brechin residents had cause to celebrate recently when it was announced that a new bus service would be arriving in their town.
Ember will officially launch a new route on October 22 that will directly connect the Angus town to Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
And earlier this month around 20 Brechiners gathered at The Northern Hotel in Brechin to find out more about it.
Elderly residents made up the majority of the turnout at the hotel, which is near the bus stop that Ember will use.
But the congregation of potential bus users on a Thursday afternoon proved a pleasant surprise for Ember enthusiast and meeting organiser Maryrose Bryceland
The 49-year-old moved to Brechin two years ago and “fell in love with the place”.
“Brechin needed something like this badly because it has had dilapidated bus services”, she says.
“People can be quite judgemental about Brechin, but they’ve never been here and experienced it.
“We have been through so much as a wee community, particularly after the flooding.
“People have had to rebuild their lives because their houses are ruined.
“Brechin needed something positive”.
Storm Babet wrecked havoc in Brechin in October 2023, forcing some people out of their homes for months.
A new bus service is likely to be of small consolation to those who suffered from the storm’s effects a year on from Babet.
But Maryrose and others at the meeting are pleased that something positive is happening in the town.
For the first time in many years it will be connected to a long distance route, with the pre-existing intercity bus services speeding past on the nearby A90.
Where will the Ember bus go?
Ember started operating in October 2020 and already connects Dundee with Edinburgh and Glasgow.
It uses electric coaches and will operate on a near hourly basis throughout the day.
The full route between Bridge of Don and Edinburgh will connect Brechin with Aberdeen University, Forfar town centre, Dundee and Inglistion Park and Ride near Edinburgh Airport.
Three overnight services will stop outside the airport’s terminal.
“I’m a bit of a petrolhead, so to like electric buses is shocking”, admits Maryrose.
“I was introduced to Ember when my son started working for them.
Maryrose recalls having to get a taxi to take her and her mother to Montrose railway station.
The bus they were on had broken down on a winter day.
It’s a journey many in Brechin are familiar with when trying to get to Aberdeen via a bus and then the train.
“If you had to deal with that everyday, then that would just be too stressful”, she adds.
“If you didn’t drive, then it wouldn’t be great to be dependent on public transport and it frustrates me.”
“When you’re on the bus you don’t have to worry about congestion, LEZ’s (low emission zones) or parking. It takes a lot of the hassle away.”
Brechin man considered moving before new Ember bus service was announced
Derek Harper is a Brechiner “born and bred” and tells me in a quiet corner of the hotel that he doesn’t drive.
The 60-year-old was questioning whether to leave his hometown after deciding to start a new business venture.
“I’ve had constant challenges with buses all my life”, explains Derek.
“It’s got more difficult post-Covid with timetable changes and driver shortages.
“I’m well schooled in having a contingency (plan).
“It was the always the case that if we wanted to go to Edinburgh and Glasgow to catch a show or something – we could never get to the train station early enough.
“The recent timetable change for the route through to Montrose has made it less reliable.
‘It has opened up Aberdeen for me’
Derek says he used to regularly travel to Aberdeen two days a week, taking the bus to Montrose and then a train.
A common thread amongst the residents at the meeting is that for years the town has been hampered by not having a direct link north to the Granite City.
“It’s always been that way and Aberdeen is like a different world”, adds Derek.
“It has opened up Aberdeen for me and I was originally thinking I might have to move there.
“But this route has made me think that it is more affordable for me to stay here.
“I have now booked events in Aberdeen in the evening and early starts in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“This opens up social mobility and the economy, which has got me really excited.
“It is up to the town to capitalise on it, particularly when there have been challenges with the weather in Brechin.
“I’m not the only one thinking it is getting harder to stay in Brechin.”
Derek has recently found job hunting hard going, realising that it is difficult to get to the other Angus towns – excluding Forfar – early enough for many jobs.
He also argues that it is going to make it easier to visit Ninewells Hospital in Dundee by bus.
“You’re over three hours to get to the hospital and back right now.
“That’s a real strain on the family members of those that can’t drive.”
Will Ember help Brechin and Angus attract more visitors?
Norma Lyall is also attending the meeting in her role as a development worker at the Angus Tourism Cooperative.
And the 60-year-old has recently received her National Entitlement Card for free bus travel.
“I’m trying to use my car less for cost and environmental purposes”, she says.
“This is an amazing opportunity for Brechin and for people to get to different cultural experiences in the bigger cities.
“I used to work at the Waterstones book shop in Dundee and I tried using public transport, but you had to leave so early – around an hour and a half before your shift.
“And then coming home in the winter in the dark it wasn’t always reliable that the bus would turn up.”
The existing Stagecoach service from Brechin to Dundee mostly operates every two hours, with an increased frequency at commuting times.
But now the Brechin resident plans to use the service to travel to Edinburgh Airport and hopes its arrival will help promote what Angus has to offer.
“We’ve got a whole range of people that want to come and explore Angus”, adds Norma.
“It is a bit of hidden gem and it’s not far to the southern edges of the Cairngorms National Park from Brechin or Forfar.
“There is also an increase in people going bikepacking.
“It has got great potential for wider Angus.
“People are still not in their homes in Brechin and there is that uncertainty and insecurity.
“We have deprivation in Brechin. But hopefully it will make travel more inclusive for everyone.”
Stagecoach chose not to comment when approached by The Courier.
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