Travel

Here are some online resources focussed around public travel in our area and across Scotland.

National Entitlement Card

The National Entitlement Card (NEC) can be used to access a variety of services and, on the travel front, that means access to free, discounted and concessionary travel on public transport in your local area and across Scotland. So, if you're over 60 or disabled, then it's worth applying for one.

Yes, there are other age groups that can benefit from an NEC like 11-26, 16-18, or under 22, but I'm guessing most of our members are a bit more seasoned than that.

A NEC can also be used for access to community car clubs such as Co-wheels, and storing travel tickets and passes from a number of operators. It can also be used for discounts on things like cinema tickets, barbers, library and leisure club memberships and more.

More information here:

Concessionary Travel

East Renfrewshire concessionary travel is handled by Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) so you can find out what's available and the area covered (for rail and ferry concessions) on their web site:

https://www.spt.co.uk/tickets/concessions/

There's also more general information on the Transport Scotland web site.

https://www.transport.gov.scot/concessionary-travel/

☝️: if you're planning on going into Glasgow and have a National Entitlement Card but don't fancy sitting on the free bus for over an hour each way then, rather than buy a return railway ticket from Neilston to Glasgow Central, consider getting the free bus down to Barrhead and buying a single railway ticket from Barrhead to Neilston as that's cheaper than a return from Neilston to Glasgow Central and might even be faster.

Public Transport

Some useful sites and apps for helping you get around using road and rail services:

Traveline Scotland - a really useful site for planning travel by public transport in Scotland. It has a journey planner, timetables, travel updates, and you can set up personalized e-mail alerts. It has apps for Android and iOS.
ScotRail - Scotland's rail travel service with information, timetables, tickets, etc. It has apps for Android and iOS.
JourneyCheck ScotRail - an online application showing information on ScotRail's rail service and where you can check your routes and get notifications of works, disruptions, etc.
Community Transport East Renfrewshire - a charity that offer a range of transport services to the community such as attending medical appointments, afternoon teas, shopping trips and minibus hire.
MyBus - a bookable bus service offering door-to-door transport in the Strathclyde area. It can be used for shopping, GP appointments, attending local clubs, etc. and all vehicles are low-floor and wheelchair friendly.
bustimes.org: Neilston - shows all the local bus stops, timetables and services in Neilston.
McGill's Buses - our main local bus service provider with a journey planner, timetables and service updates. They have apps for Android and iOS with live GPS tracking of their buses.
Shuttle Buses - operates the bus service between East Kilbride and Uplawmoor via Barrhead and Neilston.
Whitestar Coaches - a Neilston-based coach hire firm with a fleet of 16 to 75 seater buses. They cover all types of private hire from tours of Scotland to wedding events and golf outings etc.
Arthurlie Cars - a Barrhead-based taxi hire service with booking apps for Android and iOS and offering up to eight-seater cabs, airport transfers, etc.
Barrhead Taxis - a private taxi hire service also offering five to eight-seater vehicles, airport transfers, etc.
Compass Cars - another Barrhead based taxi hire service, which also has booking apps for Android and iOS.
Eastwood Mearns Taxis - a Newton Mearns-based taxi hire service, which also has booking apps for Android and iOS.
Uber - an online and mobile app-based taxi hire service.

Useful Sites and Apps

There are quite a few web sites, some with mobile apps, that can be helpful when travelling so here are a few I've used:

Traffic Scotland - a service provided by Transport Scotland that collects and distributes real-time traffic and travel information for the entire Scottish trunk road and motorway network, including the major bridges.
Scottish Road Works Online - provides an interactive display of all current and planned works on roads throughout the whole of Scotland recorded on the Scottish Road Works Register.
Tell Me Scotland - Scotland's portal to discover and set alerts for public notices. This includes road works, closures and restrictions.
Renfrew Bridge - you can use this page to request a bridge opening or to check when the bridge is closed to vehicles, pedestrian and cyclists.
SW Trunk Roads - contains information on roadworks on nearly 400 miles of road from Glasgow to Dumfries and through to Ayr and Stranraer.
Google Maps - a UK mapping site with route-planning, offline maps, street view and turn-by-turn directions for car, public transport, cycling and walking. It has apps for Android and iOS.
Waze - an online, turn-by-turn driving navigation and route-planning app with crowd-sourced live traffic and road conditions. It has apps for Android and iOS.
Transport Focus - an independent UK public transport passenger watchdog and where to go to make complaints.
Wanderlog and TripIt - online travel planning apps that can keep everything in one place - itineraries, flights, car hire, hotel bookings, holidays, maps and directions and more. Useful if you're a frequent traveller. Both have apps for Android and iOS and there are more such apps listed here.
East Renfrewshire Council Winter Roads - lists where to find the nearest grit bin and lets you report an ice, snow or grit problem.

If you know of any similar travel-oriented sites or apps not shown here, then please e-mail the details to neilstonmensgroup@gmail.com

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