McGill's Buses Reviews 

Today the X36 bus from Glasgow to Stirling did not turn up, my husband who has disabilities stood at the bust stop in Cumbernauld for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
There were other people at the bus stop going to Stirling who eventually had to get a taxi.
This x36 bus is totally unreliable.

Two nights on the trot X38 departing Falkirk @ 1810 has been cancelled then have to wait till 1921 for next bus absolutely ridiculous considering the amount of busses that pass not in service, what’s wrong with a bit of common sense and sending out replacement bus, but then again what do I expect from a company ran by a shower of shysters

On the x23 a bus driver sitting there bloody moaning about why am standing at a bus stop no my problem that they built a bloody bus stop there take the anger on them absolute worst experience won't recommend travelling with them again

Chaos at Braehead today due to emergency water main repairs. Obviously that's not the company's fault, but drivers I've encountered being particularly unhelpful.

£12.05 for a 10-mile return journey

We recently used the X10 from Kippen to Stirling, a journey of roughly 10 miles each way, and were charged £12.05 for a return.

After querying it with McGill’s, we were told this was correct because Kippen falls outside the Stirling & Clackmannanshire fare zone, meaning the only suitable return option was effectively an All Zones DaySaver.

That may be how the fare structure is designed, but it represents very poor value for a relatively short local journey.

At a time when people are constantly being encouraged to use public transport and reduce unnecessary car journeys, fares like this achieve the opposite. For two people, a return would cost £24.10, making it significantly more economical for us to use the car instead.

That is frustrating, because we would much rather use the more environmentally friendly option where possible.

The driver appears to have sold the correct ticket under McGill’s current fare structure, so my criticism is not aimed at them personally. The problem is a pricing system that makes a simple 10-mile journey into Stirling disproportionately expensive.

There needs to be a more sensible local return or two-trip fare for passengers travelling from places such as Kippen into Stirling. At £12.05 each, public transport simply isn’t competitive enough to persuade people to leave their cars at home.

18th August 2026. The 15.13pm 52 bus from Stirling to Alloa did not turn up at all after I activated my ticket. The 15.43 did not turn up either. I phoned customer service to complain. No explanation or apology. The bus driver on the late running bus later was grim faced. But not as grim as mine after this shambolic bus service. Avoid at any cost.

If I could put 0 stars I would. Biggest joke of a company I’ve ever heard of. Soon as they took over Stirling buses they’ve been shocking. Bus is late every day. Sometimes it just doesn’t show up with no warning. I’ve been late to work many times because it just hasn’t shown up. Happened a few times but just now me and an elderly woman were waiting on the 38 at wellgreen, Stirling. When we saw it coming I stepped out as I usually do, the bus just went right past. It was not too full either. Absolutely shocking service especially as this elderly woman now has to wait for however long for the next one. If it even shows. Also been times when the bus has went right past me before with the driver staring at me as I had my hand out.

McGill’s Buses & McGill’s Bus App

I have relied on McGill’s Buses for a long time, and unfortunately my experience has become increasingly frustrating. This review reflects my own experience as a regular passenger.

The first major issue is the McGill’s Bus App. It is, without doubt, one of the worst transport apps I have ever used. It constantly freezes, crashes, and glitches. The live bus tracker is frequently inaccurate or fails altogether, making it almost impossible to know where your bus actually is. There have been countless occasions where the app has shown a bus approaching, only for it never to appear, or it disappears from the map entirely. For a company of McGill’s size, it is unacceptable that an app intended to help passengers is so unreliable.

Passengers have been told repeatedly that updates are coming and that bugs are being fixed, yet the same issues continue. The app simply cannot be trusted for planning journeys.

The buses themselves also leave a great deal to be desired. Routes such as the 901, 906 and X7 are particularly disappointing. The seats are extremely uncomfortable, feeling as though you’re sitting directly on metal with little or no cushioning. Longer journeys become uncomfortable very quickly, and the standard is far below what should be expected from a modern public transport operator.

Cleanliness is another recurring issue. Many buses smell strongly of diesel, making journeys unpleasant. While not every vehicle is in poor condition, too many are, and the fleet often feels tired and neglected.

Reliability is arguably the company’s biggest failure. Buses regularly fail to arrive, arrive significantly late, or occasionally depart earlier than scheduled. When passengers depend on public transport to get to work, college, appointments or home, this level of unreliability is unacceptable. A timetable is meaningless if passengers cannot rely on it.

Customer service is also inconsistent. While there are certainly some excellent, polite and professional drivers who deserve recognition, there are others whose behaviour is completely unacceptable. I have experienced drivers being rude, dismissive and impatient with passengers. On one occasion, a driver opened the doors and then began moving the bus before they had properly closed them. Behaviour like this is not only unprofessional—it raises genuine safety concerns, especially when children, elderly passengers or disabled passengers are on board.

Public transport operators have a responsibility to place passenger safety above everything else. Any practices that compromise that responsibility should be investigated thoroughly.

What makes this even more frustrating is that many of these concerns are echoed by other passengers. McGill’s currently has a poor Trustpilot rating, with many reviewers describing unreliable services, buses failing to appear, app problems, rude customer service and concerns about driver behaviour. While experiences naturally vary, these recurring complaints suggest that many of these issues are not isolated

McGill’s has enormous potential. Scotland deserves a reliable, modern and professional bus operator. Unfortunately, too often the company falls short of that expectation. Better investment in the app, improved fleet maintenance, more comfortable seating, stronger customer service standards, and greater focus on punctuality would significantly improve the passenger experience.

At present, however, I cannot recommend McGill’s Buses. Passengers deserve reliable buses, a working app, comfortable vehicles and consistently professional service. Until these long-standing issues are properly addressed, the company will continue to disappoint many of the people who rely on it every day.

Summary of the main issues:

• Bus app regularly freezes, crashes and provides unreliable tracking.
• Live tracker cannot be trusted.
• Frequent late buses and buses that fail to appear.
• Uncomfortable seating on routes including the 901, 906 and X7.
• Strong diesel smells on some vehicles.
• Inconsistent customer service from some drivers.
• Safety concerns regarding some driving standards.
• Repeated promises of improvements without noticeable change.

I sincerely hope McGill’s takes passenger feedback seriously, because at the moment the service falls well below the standard people should reasonably expect from one of the UK’s largest bus operators

On the 24th july i travelled on the X37 getting on at greenhill rd Bonnybridge.
I passenger got on at main street and sat next on the seat that steps up to the next level ( not upstairs ).
The speed the driver was going is more than I do in my car heading past the power station Bonnybridge into Camelon. Im pretty sure the bus went round on 2 wheels. A man sat opposite the woman and had to physically push her arm to stop her falling on the seat. He then waited at a bus stop for 5 mins no-one getting on or of to waste time as, i would say he was driving so fast he was very early.
Eventually we got to Asda falkirk and 2 women came down and said they had been thrown about the top deck since Glasgow and Mcgills should check their CCTV.
On complaining i found this a pure waste of time.according to them the driver drove with care and attention and it was a coincidence we had to wait in a bus stop for 5 mins.
I couldn’t speak to Stuart Sinclair the manger ( i dont know his exact position) and when i requested to see the CCTV which im on i was told no.
If this young driver is not pulled over the coals with the complaint I registered he is going to cause a crash resulting in casualties or even death. He had no awareness of the speed he was doing on a double decker bus.
Mcgills doing absolutely nothing about it.

I have been using McGills buses for a number of years & whilst it’s fair to say most of the drivers are friendly, polite & treat myself & the passengers with the same courtesy & respect & dignity as I treat them it has to be said that a disproportionate amount of the drivers in this company are rude, disrespectful & some are horrible. Now I understand that sitting driving a large slow moving awkward bus is not for everyone & the pay is not the greatest & there is lots of disrespect from passengers but it works two ways. I endeavour to give every driver the respect & dignity that is due to them unfortunately with some drivers it is not enough no matter how much you show civility that we all deserve. The best of it that I am paying for these services so I don’t pay to get abused by some bus driver who is clearly unhappy with his life, job, career or simply having an off day. I & everyone else suffer the same in life yet I show the civility & politeness due to each & every one of us. I could ring off the incidents and abuse but I don’t have time as it’s been a whole lot spread out over 5 or 6?years The only time I really reacted was when I had a driver blatantly abuse me & my 91 year old parent whilst at the same time ejecting another elderly lady from the vehicle for pointing out his abusive disrespect toward my mother & myself. Sometimes incidents can be engineered by other groups & I think this was one such case & I do know you don’t become a billionaire transport company without connections & association to clubs etc.

McGills 54 route Stirling regularly speed and mount pavements within the village, I have serious concerns about the welfare of pedestrians within the village especially children, as these are meant to be safe routes to school, there has been a number of near misses. McGills always deny the incidents (even claim the footage wasn’t available etc)

If mcgills hiring policy is to find the most unsociable antisocial man possible to drive each bus they are succeeding admirably. Every interaction I have with one of these drivers is worst than the last. Rude, disrespectful and abrupt answers. When I ask anything I sometimes get a glare, or a slow mmmhmm. Today a driver shut the doors to an almost empty bus going to Erskine while making eye contact with me when I was standing at the stop. They act like their job is an inconvenience to them to the point that I would rather wait extra for a First bus than get the McGill’s service if given the chance. I’m definitely not the only one that thinks this. The way the staff act is ridiculous I seriously think the drivers need to be monitored for their behaviour because it’s unacceptable. Not to even mention the extortionate prices and unreliable nature of McGill’s. The only thing I can say is that I’m glad there are other bus options in Glasgow so I can avoid mcgills wherever possible.

have just read in the newspaper that mcgills are starting a number 24 from clydebank to the queen elizabeth hospital . Since taking the number 22 off the road from erskine to paisley we have to take three buses to reach the paisley alexandria hospital . So its time to reinstate that service. not start a new service .

My sister recently visited from Canada and bought a McGill’s mobile ticket in advance. When she boarded the bus, her phone failed to display the ticket due to a technical issue. Despite having already paid, she was told she had to buy another ticket because the driver had no way to verify her purchase.

This review is not about asking for a refund. It’s about a policy that leaves passengers with no fallback option if their phone malfunctions, the app freezes, or the battery dies. In every scenario, the answer is the same: “No working phone, pay again.”

Most modern transport systems allow alternative proof — confirmation email, app history, bank transaction, or customer‑service verification. McGill’s offers none of these. There is no way for an honest passenger to prove they’ve already paid.

This policy disproportionately affects elderly passengers, visitors, and anyone who experiences a technical glitch. It’s outdated, unfair, and needs to be reviewed.

I hope McGill’s will consider updating their mobile ticketing policy to include a reasonable fallback method so that genuine customers are not penalised for technical issues beyond their control.

Shouted at me cos ive got a disabilty made fun of me

Overall I rate McGill’s 3 stars as there are many polite bus drivers & the x23 service I usually use is on time besides being too early on a few occasions.

However I have a complaint about one of the x23 bus drivers. I am unsure of his name, but he has a shaven head, glasses, a few tattooes on his arms and my guess is that he is in the 35-45s range but his attitude STINKS. Me and my sister had just moved to Erskine in June 2025 when we first encountered him and he that we used the x23 service to go to the same street the 757 passes (which we did not know and it had come just before the x23), and he told us we should’ve gotten on the other bus accompanied with heavy sighs. Rude. Today there was a boy in front of me with a slight accent asking to go to Glasgow & this bus driver was particularly unimpressed and the expressions I watched him give after the boy stepped aside was just unbelievable.

I can’t believe you can hire bus drivers who can’t hide their dissatisfaction with a customer facing role. I understand customer service is fatiguing ,but After all, you applied for this role and it costs nothing to be patient or kind.

Just got the X7 from Braehead to Buchanan St. first I’ve ever used. My journey was fine Driver stopped to allow passengers off and a gentleman asked where to get the bus to Glasgow Airport. Yes the driver told him but as the man was confirming the details the driver closed the door on him nearly catching his arm in the door…. So rude it would have taken 2 seconds to reassure the man. A passenger who got off the bus then told the man where to get the bus…. Show a little respect towards others even tho you’ve maybe had a bad morning

757 BUS FROM Paisley to Clydebank it was due to come at 17.09 turn up at 17.55 worst service ever getting worse.

I normally only use the no 32 Johnstone via kilbarchan service I usually get the same driver needless to say because what an ignorant man, I've been getting this man now for a long time on this 32 bus I would get on put my card to be scanned as I'm a pensioner I would always say thank you even getting of I would say thanks driver but never once did this horrible man acknowledge me so I thought to myself why should I show this man any kindness with the way he treats me so I stopped the pleases and the thank yous ect !! when waiting on the bus at kilbarchan road I have to go onto the road and put my hand out because it's like he's going to keep driving on ,I got his bus today put my card onto the scanner I picked it up to early just a genuine accident he started swinging his arms around and was very ignorant to me I felt so embarrassed and intimidated he is a burly bully towards women I did tell him in a nice way that he was not a nice person and was very ignorant towards people due to the experiences other people have had with this man I believe his name is George he is well know to the public and it's not down to kindness it's down to sheer rudeness this man should not be working with members of the public he hasn't got the temperament he needs further training on how to work with the public nobody should feel uncomfortable travelling on public transport and to tell you the truth I feel very uncomfortable on the bus this man is driving if I could avoid using this bus I would but due to health issues I have to rely on this service.thank you.

We followed Google maps instructions to go from Falkirk Railway Station to the Falkirk Wheel and found the Drossie Road stop for bus no's 7 and 8 to Camelon. We waited there for an hour with no sign of the buses that were meant to arrive according to the timetable at the stop. The stop opposite was for buses going from Camelon to Falkirk and none appeared in that direction either. We only managed to arrive for the time of the booking on the Falkirk Wheel by calling a cab. Not trusting the bus service we also called a cab to get back to the station, this added unexpected additional costs to our trip. The information attendant at the Wheel told us that Falkirk bus services were consistently unreliable.