Route 35 Survey Report
Resident Survey Report · 26 May 2026
Route 35 Bus Service
Findochty · Portknockie · Buckie · Cullen & Deskford Community Councils
Key Statistics at a Glance
Figures below are drawn from the 99 structured responses. Portknockie's 22 qualitative responses are incorporated in the thematic section.
Frequency of Use
Punctuality: How Often Is the Bus on Time?
Overall Service Rating
Issues Experienced (% of respondents who selected each issue)
1. Respondent Profile
Of the 99 structured respondents, 33.3% use the service daily, 23.2% weekly, and 43.4% occasionally. The 56.6% who travel daily or weekly include commuters, students, healthcare patients and people without access to a car, for whom this service is essential infrastructure. Problems with reliability affect them disproportionately.
| Frequency of use | Responses | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | 33 | 33.3% |
| Weekly | 23 | 23.2% |
| Occasionally | 43 | 43.4% |
2. Punctuality
Only 45.5% of respondents report the bus is on time often or always. A combined 54.5% say it is only sometimes, rarely, or never on time. Portknockie feedback independently corroborates this, with residents specifically raising the failure of the app to provide live tracking, meaning that even when services are running, passengers have no reliable way of knowing when a bus will arrive.
| How often is the bus on time? | Count | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Always | 15 | 15.2% |
| Often | 30 | 30.3% |
| Sometimes | 40 | 40.4% |
| Rarely | 13 | 13.1% |
| Never | 1 | 1.0% |
3. Overall Reliability
65.7% of respondents rate the service no better than Average, with 30.3% rating it Poor or Very Poor. Among the 56 daily and weekly users, 35.7% rate it Poor or Very Poor, rising to 71.4% rating it no better than Average. Portknockie residents echo this view and note that, for many, there is simply no alternative - the bus is not a choice but a necessity.
| Rating | Count | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Very Good | 13 | 13.1% |
| Good | 21 | 21.2% |
| Average | 35 | 35.4% |
| Poor | 22 | 22.2% |
| Very Poor | 8 | 8.1% |
4. Issues Experienced
Respondents were asked to select all issues they had personally experienced. Late running and cancellations dominate. Over half of respondents have experienced poor or absent communication when disruption occurs, which compounds the operational problem by leaving passengers stranded with no information. Running early (departing ahead of timetable) was reported by 18.2% of respondents, meaning passengers who arrive at stops on time still miss buses. All of these themes are independently confirmed by Portknockie residents.
| Issue | Count | % of respondents |
|---|---|---|
| Late running | 78 | 78.8% |
| Cancellations | 70 | 70.7% |
| Poor/no updates when disrupted | 51 | 51.5% |
| Overcrowding | 31 | 31.3% |
| Running early (departing before timetable) | 18 | 18.2% |
5. What Residents Say Would Improve the Service
The three principal improvements directly mirror the three most commonly reported problems. Residents are not asking for radical change; they are asking for a timetable that is adhered to and meaningful communication when it is not. Portknockie residents additionally call for coaches on longer journeys (for toilet facilities and luggage/buggy/wheelchair space) and for timetabling that better serves working hours.
| Improvement requested | Count | % of respondents |
|---|---|---|
| Better timekeeping / punctuality | 57 | 57.6% |
| More buses / increased frequency | 54 | 54.5% |
| Live updates and better communication | 45 | 45.5% |
| Less overcrowding | 16 | 16.2% |
6. Qualitative Feedback: Key Themes
Structured responses from 99 respondents and free-text comments from 22 Portknockie respondents via Facebook produced consistent themes across all four communities.
6.1 Essential travel disrupted: work, education and healthcare
Respondents across all communities describe specific, material consequences: missed work shifts and loss of pay, inability to maintain regular college attendance, and disrupted journeys to medical appointments at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. One Portknockie resident was stranded at ARI when the 14:30 service was cancelled and was advised to travel to Macduff to connect - a wholly inadequate contingency for a patient travelling home from hospital. Another Portknockie resident has resorted to hitchhiking to reach work in Elgin, a situation flagged as dangerous, and particularly so in winter conditions.
6.2 Cancellations with no notice
Cancellations at short notice, sometimes discovered only on arrival at the stop, are a recurring complaint across all communities. The Stagecoach app is specifically identified as unreliable, either failing to flag cancellations until the last moment or showing a bus that is not running.
6.3 Timetabling and working hours
Portknockie respondents specifically raise the impact of recent timetable changes on those travelling to Elgin for work, noting that revised departure times no longer align with working hours, forcing an earlier arrival or leaving passengers waiting in Elgin for up to an hour for a return service.
6.4 Vehicle condition and suitability
Both the structured responses and Portknockie feedback raise concerns about the vehicles deployed on this route. The absence of toilet facilities on a journey of up to two and a half hours is a particular concern, especially in the context of elderly passengers travelling to ARI. Double-decker buses are described as poorly suited to rural and weather conditions.
6.5 What residents value: drivers and fares
7. Boarding Locations
Of the 27 respondents who completed the paper/Google Form, boarding locations were recorded as follows. The Buckpool respondent who states they had to drive to the stop because no bus serves the top of Buckpool indicates a further access gap beyond what the quantitative data captures.
| Boarding stop | Count |
|---|---|
| Findochty | 13 |
| Buckie (town centre) | 8 |
| Portknockie | 2 |
| Buckpool | 1 |
| A98 Slackhead | 1 |
| Portgordon | 1 |
| Buckpool (drove to stop - no local stop) | 1 |
8. Requests to Stagecoach North Scotland
On behalf of the residents of the communities served by the Route 35 in Moray, the undersigned community councils request that Stagecoach North Scotland:
- Provide a written explanation of the root causes of persistent late running and cancellations on this route, and the steps being taken to address them.
- Commit to a measurable punctuality target for the Route 35 and report progress against it on a quarterly basis.
- Review the adequacy of driver staffing levels and contingency cover arrangements, which multiple respondents identify as a primary cause of last-minute cancellations.
- Improve real-time communication when services are disrupted, including prompt updates on the Stagecoach app, which is currently reported as unreliable, and accessible channels beyond X (Twitter).
- Address the practice of buses departing ahead of timetable, which causes passengers who arrive on time to miss services.
- Review the current timetable with regard to working hours for key employment destinations including Elgin and Aberdeen, and explain the rationale for recent timetable changes that have reduced the service's utility for working passengers.
- Review the vehicle allocation on this route with regard to passenger comfort, suitability for rural and adverse weather conditions, toilet facilities for journeys of two hours or more, and adequate space for luggage, buggies and wheelchairs.
- Consider whether the current frequency adequately serves the communities along the route, particularly for work and school journeys in the morning.
9. Conclusion
This report represents the views of 121 residents across four communities, the majority of them regular users. The findings are consistent across all survey channels and all communities, and leave no doubt that service reliability is failing a significant proportion of the people this route is meant to serve.
The testimonies of residents stranded at hospital, losing pay due to late buses, or resorting to hitchhiking to get to work make clear that this is not a matter of inconvenience; it is causing real harm.
We ask Stagecoach North Scotland to treat this report seriously and to enter into dialogue with the community councils with a view to agreeing tangible improvements. We would welcome a meeting to discuss these findings at their earliest convenience.
Submitted jointly by: