Road Works Cause No5 Bus Route Diversion in The Ferry

Members of North Barnhill Residents' Group met on Tuesday evening. One of the issues they asked me to take up was the temporary diversion of the No 5 bus which had apparently been unannounced. 

Currently, on the return leg of its journey towards Dundee the number 5  bus usually runs along Nursery Road, Forthill Road and Fort Street down to Queen Street. While Queen Street has been dug up, traffic is restricted to running one way only towards Monifieth between Claypotts Road and Fort Street. As a result, the No 5 bus now turns right up Forthill Road, turns left onto Balgillo Road and heads back towards town.  On Tuesday, passengers from Barnhill who wanted  to get down to central Broughty Ferry were getting off the bus at Forthill Road and walking down the hill into The Ferry. 

While this temporary diversion may be just inconvenient for many passengers, it can present an unwelcome and impossible challenge for those with restricted mobility who need to get down to The Ferry.

While these Barnhill residents recognised the need to dig up the roads for the relaying of the electricity cable, they did wonder why there was apparently no specific warning about this change from National Express Dundee and the City Council? One positive suggestion they proposed was to use the travel information screens at bus shelters to warn folk on this route about these changes before they get on the bus.

I have emailed the Transportation Department and  to see whether they can improve the travel information on this route and to let the travelling public know how long they think this bus diversion will be necessary.

New Bus Service Begins Connecting Ethiebeaton Park, Pamurefield, Barnhill and West Ferry with Broughty Ferry

I am pleased that on Monday 15 August, the new Travel Dundee bus service 206 will begin to run on a route connecting Ethiebeaton Park, Pamurefield, Barnhill and West Ferry with Broughty Ferry. The service will operate six days a week Monday - Saturday. Each day there will be six services on the continuous loop.


This will restore public transport links to the heart of Broughty Ferry and replace the Service 69 previously operated by Stagecoach.

This improved route should provide a more regular bus service for folk who felt cut off following the much maligned reorganisation of the Travel Dundee bus services last summer. I am pleased that the voices of the fare paying public and Councillors have been eventually been listened to. 

The timetable is below - click on the image to enlarge it:

National Express Bypasses Key Parts of Broughty Ferry

In early November, National Express buses will no longer pass through central Broughty Ferry when the No 5 circular bus is re-routed. The No 5 bus service will no longer cross the railway line and travel through central Broughty Ferry removing convenient drop off and pick up points in the central shopping area.

Many older residents, including some who live in sheltered housing, have approached me with their concerns. They complain, for example, that elderly residents will now have to get off the bus at the Post Office Bar and walk along Queen Street to the post office at the top of Grey Street, then walk across the rail crossing to get to the main shops within the Ferry. When these residents have finished their shopping, they will need to carry their messages up the steep incline to reach the bus stop at the foot of Forthill Road.

Likewise, residents in Dundee Road/Broughty Ferry Road remain inconveniences and cut off by the withdrawal of their bus services since the end of June.

I think both sets of bus users are very reasonable in asking for a solution to the withdrawal of bus services that they have come to rely on. Come on Travel Dundee, you can surely do better than this!

More Changes to Broughty Buses

On Sunday 25th July, Travel Dundee will introduce changes to the routing of the 5A and 5B circular buses in Broughty Ferry. These revisions are being introduced only one month after the upheaval of new bus routes and timetables throughout the city.

Following difficulties keeping the four an hour combined 5A & 5B services running to time, Travel Dundee have gained permission from the Traffic Commissioners to half the number of buses (two instead of four) that cross the railway line and drive through central Broughty Ferry. This will reduce the service through the central Broughty Ferry south of the railway line to a half hourly service.

Many residents in Barnhill will be disappointed that the revised new routes for the 5A and 5B services will remain only operating in a one way direction round the Barnhill loop, which prevents some bus users from practicable outward and return journeys by bus.

Folk who use the 5A and 5B buses to travel directly into central Broughty Ferry may be wary that these reductions in the 5A and 5B services that run through the Ferry are just the thin end of the wedge. If, as Travel Dundee claim, delays at the Gray Street level crossing are to blame for delays in the four an hour combined 5A and 5B services, maybe Travel Dundee will be back soon with another request to scrap the remaining 5A & 5B services that run through Brook Street/Gray Street and Gray Street/King Street.

The new timetables for the 5A & 5B buses will be posted on Bus Stops.

Read or download the new timetables effective Sunday 25th July