Changes to service 253

Service 253 - no longer serving Dunbar to Edinburgh

We're implementing essential adjustments to service 253 (Berwick-Upon-Tweed – Edinburgh) to address growing congestion issues and a lack of demand for direct travel between Dunbar and Edinburgh, both of which have been impacting the reliability of the service. These proactive changes will allow us to offer a more dependable local service and seamless onward travel to the capital.  

What's changing? 

From Monday, 20 October, the 253 service will be revised as follows: 

• To improve reliability and to serve demand, the service will now operate exclusively between Berwick-Upon-Tweed and Dunbar. The section between Dunbar and Edinburgh will be removed from this service.
• We have established a partnership with East Coast Buses (ECB) to deliver a smooth and reliable connection for your journey to Edinburgh.
• In Dunbar, customers can easily switch to the East Coast Buses Service X7 for guaranteed onward travel to the capital.
• The revised route will now serve Broxburn and Dunbar Grammar School.
• We're introducing a revised timetable featuring earlier first buses and later last buses to better meet your travel needs throughout the day.
• A new 19:10 journey from Berwick will be introduced, serving Reston via Ayton, Eyemouth, and Coldingham. This new journey is specifically designed to enhance connections with train services at Reston station. 

Seamless Ticketing Options 

To make your through journey to Edinburgh as straightforward as possible via our partnership with East Coast Buses, we're offering a convenient through-ticketing option: 

All tickets will be available for purchase directly on the Borders Buses app. 

We believe these necessary changes will tackle the reliability issues caused by congestion and provide better local service and simpler, guaranteed connections for all our passengers. 

The new timetable is now available