McGill's Midland Bluebird
 Mercedes-Benz Citaro C2 in Glasgow city centre in July 2024 | |
| Parent | McGill's Bus Services |
|---|---|
| Founded | 19 September 2022 |
| Headquarters | Larbert, Fife, Scotland |
| Service area | |
| Service type | Bus and coach |
| Routes | 25 |
| Depots | 2 |
| Fleet | 257 (September 2022) |
Chief executive | Tony Williamson |
| Employees | 550 (September 2022) |
| Website | www |
McGill's Midland Bluebird is a bus operator in Southern Scotland mainly serving Falkirk and Stirling. The company is a subsidiary of McGill's Bus Services.
History
On 6 September 2022, it was announced that McGill's had acquired the operations of First Scotland East from the FirstGroup. The company was rebranded to McGill's Scotland East, also trading as McGill's Midland Bluebird and McGill's Eastern Scottish.[1] The sale, completed on 19 September 2022, saw McGill's take on 550 employees, four depots and a fleet of 257 buses from the FirstGroup, including the Bright Bus Tours open top bus tour operation in Edinburgh.[2] Following the takeover, 120 of the buses acquired from First were deemed unsuitable for McGill's service and taken off the road, with some returning to service after repairs and some being replaced by vehicles transferred from other McGill's operations.[3]
McGill's announced in September 2023 that it was to close down their McGill's Eastern Scottish operation and would start ceasing most operations on services in Edinburgh and West Lothian between October and December. The company cited issues with driver recruitment and low passenger patronage, as well as traffic congestion and competition with the railways and Lothian Buses had led to the Eastern Scottish operation becoming unsustainable to operate.[4]
Operations
McGill's Midland Bluebird operate services in Falkirk and Stirling and to surrounding communities.[5]
Midland Bluebird also operate two open top bus routes in Edinburgh under the Big Bus Tours franchise. These were initially branded as BrightBus Tours prior to a rebrand in June 2025.[6] The company also operate Stirling's open top bus.[7][8]
X36/X37
Routes X36 and X37, running from Falkirk and Stirling respectively to Glasgow, are branded as 'Swift'. The route is run using Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC double-decker buses.[9]
UniLink
'UniLink' runs between Stirling town centre and the campus of the University of Stirling. The route is run using Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMCs.[10][11]
Fleet
As of September 2022, the fleet consisted of 257 buses.[2]
During September 2025 Midland Bluebird started taking delivery of 30 new Yutong E12 electric buses for use mainly on route 38.[12]
References
- ↑ Dalton, Alastair (6 September 2022). "McGill's Buses takes over First Scotland East in latest expansion". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- 1 2 "McGill's to purchase First Scotland East operation". routeone. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ Paterson, Kirsty (10 November 2022). "McGill's Buses: Nearly half of bus fleet taken off the road following takeover". Falkirk Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ Deakin, Tim (27 September 2023). "McGill's to end Eastern Scottish operations in West Lothian". routeone. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ "Timetables & Maps". McGill's Midland Bluebird. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ "Big Bus Tours brand for McGill's Edinburgh sightseeing operation". routeone. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ "New Stirling sightseer tour to bring city's amazing story to life" (Press release). McGill's Midland Bluebird. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ "Stirling Sightseer". Visit Scotland. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ "X37 SWIFT - Stirling (X36) / Falkirk (X37) to Glasgow". McGill's Midland Bluebird. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ "Unilink - Stirling city centre to the University of Stirling". McGill's Midland Bluebird. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ "University travel transformed with 'best buses in Scotland'" (Press release). University of Stirling. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ↑ Chisholm, Alex (17 September 2025). "McGill's launches new fleet of zero-emission buses in £14 million investment". Stirling News. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
External links
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