Founding and early development (2019–2020) Ember was founded in 2019 by Pierce Glennie and Keith Bradbury, both of whom had previously worked for
iwoca. Glennie has stated that the concept for the company was inspired by a long-distance bus journey he undertook from
Namibia to
South Africa. The name Ember was chosen to reflect the idea of “the end of fire”. Ember’s first planned route, numbered the E1, was to operate between
Dundee and
Edinburgh. Originally scheduled to commence in March 2020, the launch was delayed due to government restrictions introduced in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic, which also postponed the delivery of the company’s first electric coach. To support the launch, Ember received a £490,000 Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan through
Triodos Bank. The company ultimately began operations in October 2020 with two battery-electric coaches, which recharged using
Dundee City Council charging infrastructure at Greenmarket.
Expansion of routes and fleet (2021–2023) In February 2022, Ember was awarded £5,562,126 from the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) to support the purchase of twenty-six battery-electric vehicles and the associated charging infrastructure. The company stated its intention to develop a national zero-emission coach network connecting Scotland’s major cities. In August 2022, Ember launched a new route between
Dundee and
Glasgow, designated the E3. In July 2023, Ember placed an order for fourteen tri-axle
Yutong GTe14 battery-electric coaches. This order increased Ember’s total fleet of Yutong electric coaches to thirty-eight vehicles. Co-founder Pierce Glennie highlighted the reliability of the company’s existing
Yutong TCe12 coaches as a key factor in enabling the rapid expansion of its zero-emission route network within three years of launch. As of July 2024, three of the GTe14 coaches had entered service, with the remainder undergoing fit-out and branding.
Network diversification and service enhancements (2024) In January 2024, Ember introduced the E10 service, described by the company as a “short but useful” route, operating between Dundee Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc and Dundee city centre. The service operates more than forty times per day in each direction, calling at three pre-booked stops. The route was designed to make productive use of depot movements that would otherwise constitute dead mileage, while also providing connections with Ember’s Edinburgh and Glasgow services, with future through-ticketing planned. In March 2024, Ember raised £11 million in equity funding from climate-focused investors, including Pale Blue Dot and Contrarian Ventures. The funding was intended to support the expansion of the intercity network, charging infrastructure, and the company’s in-house technology platform. In May 2024, Ember launched the E3X express service between
Perth city centre and
Glasgow, operating four services per day in each direction, with two services extending to
Dundee. The service commenced on 7 May. During the same month, Ember introduced the E1X service operating between
Dundee,
Kinross,
Edinburgh and
Wallyford Park and Ride, where vehicles utilised newly installed charging facilities, before returning to Dundee. The E1X service was withdrawn on 22 October 2024. In September 2024, Ember announced plans to launch a new route linking
Bridge of Don and
Aberdeen city centre with
Edinburgh via
Dundee, with intermediate stops including
Brechin and
Forfar. The route also provides a connection to
Edinburgh Airport. Full service commencement was scheduled for 22 October 2024, with twenty services per day operating throughout the week. The introduction of this route doubled the frequency between Dundee and Edinburgh to forty services per day, providing a half-hourly service for much of the day. To support operations, Ember established a new depot in Bridge of Don, complementing its existing depot in Dundee.
Further network growth (2025) In April 2025, Ember announced the introduction of a new route between
Fort William and
Edinburgh. A further announcement in May 2025 confirmed the launch of a
Fort William to
Glasgow service. In June 2025, the E7 route between
Aberdeen and
Inverness commenced operations. In July 2025, Ember announced that the E6 route, operating between
Inverness and
Thurso &
Scrabster, would begin on 9 July. Later that month, on 23 July, the company launched the E11 route between
Dundee and
Aberdeen via
Braemar. In September 2025, Ember introduced the E4X express service between
Edinburgh and
Fort William. On 22 October 2025, Ember commenced operation of the E8 route between
Glasgow and
Inverness. This was followed by the launch of the E9 route between
Edinburgh and
Inverness on 5 November 2025.
Coach hire and fleet expansion In September 2025, Ember expanded beyond scheduled intercity services with the launch of Ember Coach Hire, a zero-emission private hire service utilising its electric coach fleet. The service operates alongside Ember’s scheduled routes and is supported by the company’s proprietary technology platform, Ember OS, which manages vehicle allocation and live tracking. By late 2025, Ember operated a fully electric fleet of seventy-eight vehicles. A further tranche of coaches funded through the second round of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB2) is expected to increase the fleet to approximately 138 vehicles in Scotland by the end of the first quarter of 2026. In November 2025, Ember announced the launch of a dedicated electric coach hire service for group travel and stated its intention to expand its fleet further, with plans to add up to 100 additional electric coaches by 2026. In March 2026, Ember were awarded £13 million of funding from the Scottish Government as part of the third and final round of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB3) to support the purchase of 100 new Yutong coaches.
Charging infrastructure Ember’s charging infrastructure has expanded alongside its fleet growth. In addition to its original hub in
Dundee, the company operates charging facilities in
Fort William,
Thurso and
Inverness, with further sites under development in
Oban,
Perth,
Livingston and
Glasgow. The network supports both scheduled services and private hire operations. == Routes ==