WEST Fife will get more buses and improved links when Stagecoach introduces a new simplified network next month.

In an attempt to resolve current punctuality problems and encourage greater passenger numbers, Stagecoach has made timetable and route changes which will come into effect on Monday 18th August.

The changes will affect the majority of routes within Dunfermline, Rosyth, Inverkeithing and the West Fife villages, as well as services between the park and rides at Ferrytoll and Halbeath.

Services have also been renumbered 1 to 11 to provide a simpler system, and evening and Sunday services will now generally follow the daytime service pattern.

The improvements will see: * More buses for Crossford, Cairneyhall and High Valleyfield * More buses between the city centre and Queen Margaret Hospital * More buses for Middlebank Street in Rosyth * More buses for Pitreavie Castle * More buses to Lapwing Drive * New bus service for Lauriston Drive * More direct buses from Rosyth to Duloch Park and Fife Leisure Park * Improved daytime links between Duloch Park, Pitreavie Castle and Ferrytoll Park and Ride * New links between Duloch Park and Halbeath Park and Ride throughout the day * New direct links from Queen Margaret Hospital to High Valleyfield, Cairneyhill, Crossford and Wellwood * New direct evening and Sunday link between Dalgety Bay and Fife Leisure Park * Many Sunday morning services will now start an hour earlier than at present Andrew Jarvis, managing director, Stagecoach East Scotland said, "We will be delivering 41,000 guides to households in Dunfermline and West Fife to help people understand these changes.

“In most cases the frequencies have remained the same with just a new simpler route number to look out for.

“I'm disappointed that we have had to withdraw the Townhill to Duloch Park section of the 72 A/C, but very few people used this section of the route.

“The buses and driver will be redeployed on to the increased level of service from the city centre to Queen Margaret Hospital providing more connections from other parts of the city.

“We have a number of information events around the city and we look forward to talking through these changes with our customers."

Stagecoach are planning some information events to answer any customer queries and provide full information on the changes. A guide to the upcoming changes will also be available this week.

Various timetables in other areas of Fife will also be revised; log on www.stagecoachbus.com for full details of all upcoming changes.