New buses on cities route

The first buses in a new £2.75million, 10-strong fleet took to the roads of the north and north-east yesterday.

Transport firm Stagecoach Group is upgrading the vehicles on its number 10 route, which runs from Aberdeen to Inverness and is used by 700,000 people every year.

The new luxury coaches boast leather seats, free wi-fi, toilet and USB charging points. They are also equipped with a vehicle tracking system, allowing passengers to find out exactly when their bus will arrive via a mobile phone app or by looking online.

Stagecoach North Scotland managing director Mark Whitelocks said: “We are committed to encouraging more people to travel by bus and we hope that when the community see the new coaches they will make bus a better choice to fulfil their travel needs.”

All 10 coaches are expected to be on the road by the end of November. Overall passenger numbers at Aberdeen International Airport (AIA) have risen for a sixth consecutive month, although the oil and gas downturn continued to impact on helicopter business at the terminal during October.

The north-east gate- way was used by a total of 284,456 people last month, a 4.4% increase on October 2016, bosses said yesterday.

Fixed wing aircraft accounted for 252,588 travellers last month, a 5.4% year-on-year increase – fuelled by a 6.9% rise in the number of people using domestic services and a 2.6% increase on international flights. Helicopter passenger numbers were down by 3.4% at 31,585, although AIA said the decline was weaker than in previous months.

Managing director Carol Benzie said: “We experienced a good volume of passengers throughout October which was due to a healthy number of business and leisure travellers.

“Helicopter passenger numbers remained down year on year. However, this decrease was very modest – showing a continuing stabilisation of the energy market in the region.

“This sixth consecutive monthly increase in total passenger numbers is highly encouraging.”

More than 1.2million passengers used Edinburgh Airport last month, while in excess of 928,000 passed through Glasgow Airport’s doors.

It was a record October for both cities, with Glasgow boosted by Celtic’s Champions League home and away double header against Bayern Munich.

HIGH POINT: Busy times at Aberdeen International Airport where there were 284,456 air passengers last month.