X1 is a

bus route A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used i ...

between

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. It is operated by JMB Travel and previously

First Glasgow First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in Scotland. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. The company operates within the area covered by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body responsible for h ...

History

In September 2019, First announced plans to withdraw the route on 27 October. The company claimed passenger numbers had been falling for several years and blamed this on factors including increased journey times as a result of congestion on the

M74 motorway The A74(M) and M74 form a major motorway in Scotland, connecting it to England. The routes connect the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway in central Glasgow to the Scottish-English Anglo-Scottish border, border at Gretna, Scotland, Gretna. T ...

which made the bus less attractive when compared to competing rail services. The decision led to criticism from local MPs and MSPs. In October 2019, First announced that the service would continue for "three to four months". In January 2020, the company stated that passenger numbers were "lower than ever". In February 2020, First announced that it would continue running the service as it had seen a rise in usage following the introduction of marketing and branded buses. The route was suspended during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and in July 2020 First announced that it would be withdrawn. The company stated that since its reintroduction the route had not carried enough passengers to be viable, despite an advertising campaign publicising its launch. Prior to the

2022 Scottish local elections The 2022 Scottish local elections were held on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. All 1,226 seats across all 32 Scottish local government, Scottish local authorities were up for election and voter turnout was 44.8%. ...

, various candidates have called for the service to be reinstated. From 13 January 2025, the service will be reinstated by JMB Travel.

References

Bus routes in Scotland Transport in Glasgow Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Transport in South Lanarkshire 2020 disestablishments in Scotland FirstGroup {{DEFAULTSORT:X1 Glasgow-Hamilton