First Bus and Stagecoach to offer free weekend travel across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire

First Bus and Stagecoach will both offer free travel across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire every weekend in January.

The scheme is being introduced in an effort to help people with rising living costs and encourage them to continue to use the bus and increase footfall in Aberdeen city centre.

Both travel firms have said they are “reinvesting the savings” from the introduction of new bus gates – which prevent all vehicles apart from buses from entering certain roads – to benefit customers.

The new measures means motorists can be slapped with a £60 fine for driving through bus gates.

First and Stagecoach claim they have both seen improvements as a result of the scheme.

Both operators are calling for further bus priority measures to be introduced by Aberdeen City Council and said the offer could be “the sign of things to come”.

Graeme Macfarlan, commercial director for First Bus Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer free travel across all First Bus routes in Aberdeen throughout January and the subsequent benefits that will bring to people travelling around the city.

“We understand January can be a difficult month for people for many different reasons and we felt this offer was a great way to reinvest the savings we are seeing from the new bus priority measures in the city centre while also encouraging more people to take the bus more often.

“Sustainable, reliable and affordable transport is a cornerstone of making any city centre a success and we will continue to play our part alongside our investment in zero emission vehicles with nearly 50 now in operation across the city each day.”

David Beaton, managing director for Stagecoach North Scotland, said: “This initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to working together as local public transport providers to ensure a bright, clean, and prosperous future for Aberdeen.

“Through providing free travel on our city services and within the Aberdeen commuter zone, we hope to give the city centre a boost during a challenging time of year, both for customers and local businesses, whilst encouraging modal shift to more sustainable forms of transport.”