The 203 DDRT

A New Pilot Service

The old 203 bus service used to run around Loch Leven at the weekends during the summer months. It wasn’t well used but we think that using new 21st century technology we could breathe new life into the route and potentially give all of Kinross-shire access to a bus service.

For the next four months of Summer and early Autumn 2025 we will be running a pilot project to see if we can make it work. Using our new Pingo Booking App, the service will run three days per week initially and be available where there is no bus service. You will be able to book your journey from places like Carnbo, Cleish, Vane Farm, Loch Leven Lodges, Lochend Farm and a number of other “virtual stops” to each designated stop in the area and to and from Kinross and Milnathort. The service will operate from bus stops and if there is no bus stop at present we will designate “virtual stops”. This is not a taxi service, and you will share your trip with other passengers who will book to join along the way. If there is already a bus service in the area, we will not provide a service. As the service will be registered with the Traffic Commissioner, national entitlement cards will be accepted for concessionary fares.

Examples:
Leven Park to Vane Farm and vice versa – yes
Leven Park to Kinross – no (the X56 covers this)
Carnbo to Kinross and vice versa – yes or perhaps it will connect you with the 23 to continue your journey at Rumbling Bridge
Muckhart to Kinross – will connect to the 23 bus service to Kinross and Tillicoultry at Rumbling Bridge
Kinross to Kinesswood – Yes if next bus is more than1 hour away, no if a 201 is due soon
Glenfarg to Milnathort – no

In a few weeks we will be asking our first “guinea pigs” to register to use the service and sign up for the Pingo App. We will also ask a few to use our existing telephone booking service so that the team can also get experience using the new service.

We are working with Community Councils in the area to help develop our service. We hope to use the pilot to gather information and evidence of what works and what does not. DDRT works in many other areas, but we have to be sure that it works here. We are starting small with one electric bus and we have a low bar to start with. The aim is to design an integrated bus service that covers all rural areas linking into existing bus services.

203 DDRT