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Ember (coach operator)

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Ember Core Ltd
An Ember Core Yutong TCe12 recharging in Dundee
Founded11 June 2019[1]
HeadquartersEdinburgh, Scotland, UK
LocaleScotland
Service areaScotland
Routes4 (E1, E3/E3X, E10)
DestinationsDundee, Perth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and more
DepotsDundee, Aberdeen
Fleet38 (November 2024)
Fuel typeElectric
Websiteember.to

Ember is a coach operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It operates the first electric intercity coach services in Scotland.[2]

History

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Ember was founded in 2019 by Pierce Glennie and Keith Bradbury, who previously worked for iwoca.[3] Glennie was inspired by a bus journey he took from Namibia to South Africa. The name Ember was chosen because it describes "the end of fire".[4]

Ember's first route, numbered the E1[a], between Dundee and Edinburgh, was planned to start operating in March 2020, but this was set back by the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the delivery of its first coach.[2] Ember received a £490,000 Coronavirus Business Interruption loan via Triodos Bank, which allowed it to launch in October 2020 with two coaches.[5][6] The coaches recharge at a Dundee City Council charging point at Greenmarket.[7]

In February 2022, Ember was awarded £5,562,126 from the Scottish Zero Emission Bus challenge fund for 26 battery electric vehicles and associated charging infrastructure.[8] Ember aims to develop a national network running between all the main cities in Scotland.[9] The company launched a route between Dundee and Glasgow in August 2022. The route was numbered E3.[10]

In July 2023, Ember ordered 14 tri-axle Yutong GTe14 electric coaches to join their all-electric fleet of Yutong coaches. The delivery of the GTe14 fleet will take the Ember fleet of Yutong battery-electric coaches to 38. In highlighting the significance of the order, co-founder Pierce Glennie emphasizes that their current Yutong TCe12 coaches have demonstrated high reliability, which has allowed them to develop an extensive zero-emission route network in less than three years.[11] As of July 2024, three of these coaches have entered service, with the remainder being kitted out and branded.

In January 2024, the company introduced a new "short but useful" service between Dundee Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc & the city centre. Over 40 services run per day in each direction with three pre-booked stops along the way. Ember introduced the E10 service to enhance local connectivity, covering trips to and from its depot which would otherwise be dead mileage. This service is designed to connect with Ember's Edinburgh and Glasgow services, with the promise of future through ticketing.[12]

In May 2024, Ember introduced a new express service, E3X, between Perth City Centre and Glasgow with four services per day in each direction. Two of those four services continue to Dundee. This service started on the 7th May. Ember also introduced the E1X operating between Dundee, Kinross, Edinburgh and Wallyford Park and Ride where it will use new chargers before returning to Dundee on the 14th.[13] This was then scrapped on the 22nd of October the same year.

In September 2024, Ember announced that they will be launching a new route from Bridge of Don and Aberdeen City Centre to Edinburgh via Dundee, with stops in the towns, such as Brechin and Forfar, en route. A connection to Edinburgh Airport is also be available. The full launch is expected to be on the 22nd of October 2024, with 20 services per day running 24/7. The launch of this route will mean the doubling of the frequency from Dundee to Edinburgh, with 40 buses per day providing a half hourly frequency at most times of day.[14] Their new Aberdeen depot is in Bridge of Don to go alongside their depot in Dundee.[15]

Routes

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E1 Bridge of Don – Edinburgh

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Half of the services will terminate in Dundee, the others will continue to Bridge of Don. Stops at Longforgan, Horn Milk Bar, St Madoes and Walnut Grove will only be operated by the short service which terminates in Dundee. Direct Ember services to Aberdeen are not available from these stops.

[16]

E3 Dundee – Glasgow

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[17]

E3X Dundee/Perth – Glasgow

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[18]

E10 Dundee City Centre – MSIP

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[19]

These services continue to Edinburgh and Glasgow as services E1 and E3. Passengers will need to change their tickets.

Tickets and fares

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Tickets can be bought in advance on Ember's website up to 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time, but are also sold onboard at some stops. Most intermediate must be booked 10 minutes before schedule to ensure that the bus will stop. Passengers with a Scottish National Entitlement Card travel for free. Through tickets are available to Edinburgh Airport, which includes a short tram journey from Ingliston.[20][21] At night, the buses go straight to Edinburgh Airport.

Fleet

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Ember's first two Yutong TCe12 battery electric coaches were delivered in 2020. A further two were added in 2021, and four more in 2022, funded by the Scottish Utra-Low Emission Bus Scheme.[9] Ember has taken delivery of fourteen Yutong GTe14 tri-axle electric coaches in early 2024 – the first operator to order the coach model.[22] Ember was also awarded funding in March 2021 for four single-deck Arrival buses,[23] the development of which was ultimately postponed in 2022. The company also had eight new additions to the fleet of Yutong TCe12s in 2023.

References

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  1. ^ "EMBER CORE LTD overview". Companies House. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b "UK set to launch first all-electric coach service from Edinburgh to Dundee next month". inews.co.uk. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Ember to trailblaze electric coaches". Bus & Coach Buyer. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  4. ^ Aitken, Ben (10 October 2020). "The clean, green, smog-fighting machine". The Times. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  5. ^ "UK's first all-electric inter-city coach service launches between Dundee and Edinburgh". Business Traveller. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Triodos Bank funds UK's first 100% electric intercity coach service". Tridos Bank. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  7. ^ Calder, Simon (30 September 2020). "Zero-emissions electric bus service launched between Edinburgh and Dundee". The Independent. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Scottish Zero Emission Bus challenge fund". Transport Scotland. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Ember Core aims to develop a national network". Buses Magazine. 15 April 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Electric coach firm Ember to expand Scottish network with Glasgow-Dundee service followed by Fort William". The Scotsman. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  11. ^ Team, routeone (2023-07-12). "Ember orders 14 Yutong GTe14 battery-electric tri-axles". routeone. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  12. ^ Sinclair, Ashleigh (2024-01-09). "Ember launches local Dundee route". CBW. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  13. ^ "News". www.ember.to. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  14. ^ "News". www.ember.to. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
  15. ^ "Work at Ember". ember.to.
  16. ^ "E1 – Between Bridge of Don and Edinburgh". bustimes.org. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  17. ^ "E3 – Between Dundee and Glasgow". bustimes.org. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  18. ^ "E3X – Between Perth and Glasgow". bustimes.org. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  19. ^ "E10 – Between Dundee City Centre and Dundee East". bustimes.org. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  20. ^ "FAQ". www.ember.to. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  21. ^ French, Roger (8 February 2022). "ember's still glowing". BusAndTrainUser. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Ember orders 14 Yutong GTe14 battery-electric tri-axles". routeone. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  23. ^ Holley, Mel (22 March 2021). "Scottish Government awards £40m second round of the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme". ITT HUb News.

Notes

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  1. ^ The service used to have a counterpart the E2. The E1 ran from Dundee to Edinburgh (and still does), and the E2 ran from Edinburgh to Dundee. Ember renumbered the E2 to E1 while keeping the same route, so now the service has the same route number in both directions.
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