Mcgill's Group Makes Further Investment In Scottish Coach Network

The UK's largest independent bus company, Greenock-based McGill’s, has announced it will significantly increase the scale of its partnership with global travel tech company FlixBus this year.

McGill’s Group, owned by Greenock brothers Sandy and James Easdale, will invest £7.5million in bringing more brand new state-of-the-art long-distance coaches into its fleet, creating 65 jobs.

Nineteen new full Flix spec coaches, including a green interior design, will come onto the network throughout 2024, bringing to more than 40 the total McGill’s Flix network vehicles.

The announcement follows a huge expansion in 2023, which saw increased routes across Scotland as well as more cross-border services.

Ralph Roberts, chief executive officer of McGill’s said: “This investment is an indication of how important the partnership with FlixBus has been for our growth in the last year.

“Building a relationship with Flix, a global tech leader, to develop a high-quality intercity coach network, was a bold decision that has delivered results.

“Scaling up our partnership together in Scotland and across the border will deliver even more sustainable transport options for passengers as we continue to revolutionise the UK coach market.”

The FlixBus network has gone from strength to strength since the partnership started in 2021, launching dedicated Scottish routes in summer 2022 and growing this fivefold last year.

Andreas Schorling, managing director of FlixBus UK, said: “Our partnership with McGill’s will increase frequencies on our most popular routes in Scotland, connecting seven cities as well as a new dedicated service between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

“Our ambitious plans to become the largest and highest quality network in the UK are well underway. McGill’s consistently receives some of the best customer ratings on our entire global network and we are proud to be bringing these services to even more destinations than ever before in 2024.”

FlixBus and McGill’s were named the Best Bus Service at the 2023 National Transport Awards for the launch of their dedicated Scottish network the previous year.

Flix, parent company to FlixBus, saw its best-ever financial half-year results in 2023 with more than 50 percent growth.

Driver Kary-Ann McGregor from Dundee was recently named as FlixBus UK Driver of the Year, the second driver from McGill’s to win the award.

Tickets can be purchased from www.flixbus.co.uk or the FlixBus App.