From Edinburgh on Weekdays
These pages are written to help you make quick changes that might just enable you to get to your destination sooner.
If you are happier to have more time allowed for changing buses then you may prefer to use the Stagecoach Journey Planner.
There are four Stagecoach Express Buses from Edinburgh that you might sensibly use - the X59 and its pair the X54 (changing to an X24 at Halbeath Park and Ride) - and the X58 and X60 (which take the slower route along the coast).
If Edinburgh is busy and express buses are running late then it's best just to take which ever bus comes first for as far as makes sense. Your target route should be via Ferrytoll, Halbeath Park & Ride and Glenrothes to St Andrews for Crail (as that's the fastest route), but if it's easier to go along the coast via Kirkcaldy and Leven then that's not much slower.
When buses are running late from Edinburgh - which they often are - you need to think how the bus you manage to catch will meet up with other buses and maybe stay on the bus you have caught longer than you otherwise would. On an X54 which is running too late to catch up with its paired X24 you might stay on to Cupar for a bus like the Moffat & Williamson 64 though that now departs at different times each hour or Dairsie for a Moffat & Williamson 94/94A or cross the road in Balmullo for a Moffat & Williamson 92 around 36 minutes past the hour or wait to cross the road at St Michaels or Pickletillum Inn for a Stagecoach 99 as they can be every 10 minutes. It helps if you are familiar with the bus you are planning to change to - so you may have your own preferences - or want to check out one or more of these routes first?
Here are the times for buses when everything is running to timetable:
The 06:30 X54 from Edinburgh Bus Station gets to Halbeath Park & Ride at 07:15 where you can change to an X24 at 07:25 getting to St Andrews at 08:35 probably just missing the 08:35 95 and having to settle instead for the 09:25 95 getting to Pinkerton Road at 09:55.
The 06:50 X58 from Edinburgh Bus Station gets to Leven at 08:35 - the 95 departs at 08:40 (or 08:44 on schooldays) and gets to Pinkerton Road at 09:49. If the X58 is running late but not more than about 10 minutes late then you could stay on it to Upper Largo and change to the 95 there if you get there before 08:53, or stay on to St Andrews for a scheduled arrival at 09:15 to catch the 09:25 95 getting to Pinkerton Road at 09:55. Any more than 10 minutes late and you are probably better waiting in Leven for the 95 an hour later...
The 07:00 X59 from Edinburgh Bus Station gets to St Andrews for 09:00 where you can catch an 09:25 95 getting to Pinkerton Road at 09:55.
The 07:20 X60 from Edinburgh Bus Station gets to Anstruther Harbour at 09:47 - cross the road for a 95 at 10:31 getting to Pinkerton Road at 10:49.
This gives you the feel for how these buses work - the X59 is simplest and fastest - just needing a change in St Andrews. The X58 will often get you to Crail a few minutes earlier, but has tighter changes to achieve this, and you might need to make rapid decisions on where to change depending on how late the X58 is running and what your smartphone is telling you about how the 95 is keeping to its timetable.
The X54 connects well with the X24 at Halbeath Park & Ride - but the arrival in St Andrews doesn't really suit the 95 timetable - in the same way, the X60 arrives in Leven or Anstruther at a poor time for connections with the 95 - but perhaps you need to do some shopping in Anstruther (or Leven) on the way?
Anyway, these four services repeat hourly for much of the day (except for connections with the 14:40 95 from Leven - which on Monday to Thursday schooldays waits an extra 12 minutes at Waid Academy - if you catch the 12:20 X60 or12:50 X58 from Edinburgh you may want to stay on to St Andrews to avoid this) and then:
The 13:50 X58 gets to Leven for 15:35 and the 95 at 15:40 should get you to Pinkerton Road for 16:49. Consideration may need to be given to changing at Upper Largo or St Andrews if the X58 is running late - this time you can cope with up to 20 minutes delay and still have a chance of catching the 16:35 95 from St Andrews getting to Pinkerton Road for 17:05.
The 14:00 X59 from Edinburgh gets to St Andrews at 16:00 but the 95 doesn't depart until 16:35 and it gets to Pinkerton Road at 17:05.
The 14:20 X60 from Edinburgh gets to Anstruther Harbour at 16:47 - cross the road for the 95 at 17:31 getting to Pinkerton Road at 17:49.
The 14:30 X54 from Edinburgh gets to Halbeath at 15:15 - catch the X24 at 15:18 which gets to St Andrews at 16:30 to hopefully catch the 95 at 16:35 and get to Pinkerton Road at 17:05. If everything runs to time this is about the quickest version of this trip you can make! But you might end up missing a connection and being an hour later - these are the risks you take...
The 14:50 X58 gets to Leven for 16:35 and the 95 at 16:40 should get you to Pinkerton Road for 17:49. Consideration may need to be given to changing at Upper Largo or St Andrews if the X58 is running late - this time you can cope with up to 20 minutes delay and still have a chance of catching the 17:35 95 from St Andrews getting to Pinkerton Road for 18:05.
The 15:00 X59 from Edinburgh gets to St Andrews at 17:20 for a 17:35 95 getting to Pinkerton Road at 18:05.
The 15:20 X60 from Edinburgh gets to Anstruther Harbour at 18:07 - cross the road for the 95 at 18:31 getting to Pinkerton Road at 18:49.
The 15:30 X54 from Edinburgh gets to Halbeath at 16:35 - which is too late to connect with the normally paired X24 - indeed connections anywhere are not good - change at Halbeath or anywhere between Glenrothes and Dairsie to the following X59...
The 15:50 X58 gets to St Andrews at 18:35 for the 18:50 95 getting to Crail High Street at 19:15.
The 16:00 X59 gets to St Andrews at 18:20 for the 18:50 95 getting to Crail High Street at 19:15.
The 16:20 X60 gets to St Andrews at 19:32 for the 19:50 95 getting to Crail High Street at 20:15.
The 16:30 X54 gets to Halbeath at 17:35 - again you have missed the connection with the X24 - take your pick where to change to connect with the following X59.
The 16:50 X58 gets to St Andrews at 19:35 for the 19:50 95 getting to Crail High Street at 20:15.
The 17:00 X59 gets to St Andrews at 19:20 for the 19:50 95 getting to Crail High Street at 20:15.
The 17:20 X60 gets to Leven at 19:20 - probably just missing the 19:20 95 - so you are likely to need to wait until 20:20 for a 95 getting to Crail at 21:19.
The 17:30 X54 continues to miss the connection at Halbeath - so you will need to change at some point to the following X59.
The 17:50 X58 gets to Leven at 19:55 for the 20:20 95 getting to Crail at 21:19.
The 18:00 X59 gets to St Andrews at 20:20 for the 20:50 95 getting to Crail at 21:15.
The 18:20 X60 gets to Leven at 20:00 for the 20:20 95 getting to Crail at 21:19.
The 18:30 X54 gets to Halbeath at 19:15 for an X24 at 19:24 getting to St Andrews at 20:35 for the 20:50 95 getting to Crail at 21:15.
The 18:50 X58 gets to Leven at 20:35 and a long wait for the 21:20 95 getting to Crail at 22:19.
The 19:00 X59 gets to St Andrews at 21:00 for the 21:50 95 getting to Crail at 22:15.
The 19:30 X60 gets to Leven at 21:10 for the 21:20 95 getting to Crail at 22:19.
The 19:40 X54 gets to Glenrothes at 20:55 where you can pick up the following X59.
The 20:00 X59 gets to St Andrews at 22:00 for the 22:50 95 getting to Crail at 23:15.
The 20:20 X58A gets to Leven at 22:05 for the 22:20 95 getting to Crail at 23:19.
The 20:40 X59A gets you to St Andrews at 23:00 - from Monday 14th August 2023 you can wait for a 95 at 00:35 getting to Crail at 01:00.
The 21:20 X58A gets you to Leven at 23:05 and a 95 at 23:20 that will get you to Cellardyke at 00:10 where from Monday 14th August 2023 the bus turns into an X60 and travels to St Andrews Bus Station arriving at 00:30 and then turning into a 95 departing at 00:35 and getting to Crail at 01:00.
The 21:40 X59A gets you to St Andrews at 00:00 where from Monday 14th August 2023 there is a 95 at 00:35 getting to Crail at 01:00.
On Fridays (and Saturdays) there is one later X58A and 95 that will get you to Cellardyke at 01:10 - but you are otherwise probably best finding somewhere to spend the night in Edinburgh...
When looking at bus timetables for late night services travel between midnight and about 4am can be confusing - the buses between these times tend to "belong" to services that started the previous day - and so you will find, for example, that there is no 00:35 service 95 from St Andrews in the early hours of Monday morning as that service doesn't follow the more limited services on the Sunday timetable - instead there IS an 00:35 service 95 in the early hours of Sunday morning as that belongs with the Saturday timetable...
There is one early morning service from "ember" that is the earliest way to get to Crail - but due to the time spent hanging around waiting for connections it's probably best avoided - either by travelling the night before or using a train if you can...
The 03:22 E1 service from Edinburgh St Andrew Square gets to Dundee Science Centre at 04:55 - a 99 from outside Dundee Rail Station at 05:55 gets to St Andrews Bus Station at 06:31 - but you then have to wait until 07:43 for the next 95 to Crail arriving at Pinkerton Road at 08:13. Or there's a FLY bus from Edinburgh Airport to Dundee at 04:30 that will get you to Crail at the same time - you need to be leaving Edinburgh about the same time as the E1 to guarantee catching this bus...
Or, if you aim for an 05:20 Lothian Buses 100 from South St David Street to Edinburgh Airport you should be able to catch a FLY bus from the Airport at 06:00 getting to Dundee at 07:20 - catch a 99 from Dundee Rail Station at 07:30 getting to St Andrews at 08:08 for the 08:35 95 getting to Pinkerton Road at 09:05.
Megabus, Ember, Flixbus and FLY timetables change quite frequently, often without much notice. So, it's probably best to use the Traveline Scotland Journey Planner if you want to travel in the early morning hours...