478 Dunoon–Portavadie

{{Short description|Bus route in Argyll and Bute, Scotland}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}

{{Infobox bus line

|number = 478

|logo =

|image =File:10609 YJ06YSD West Coast Motors.jpg

|image_width = 300

|caption =An Optare Solo M880SL running the 478 route in Tighnabruiach in 2006

|bgcolor = red

|titlecolor = white

|operator = West Coast Motors

|garage =

|vehicle =

|pvr =

|open ={{start date and age|1993|p=yes}}

|close =

|predecessors =

|former_operator =

|night =

|start = Dunoon Pier

|via = Tighnabruiach

Kames

|end = Portavadie

|length ={{convert|28|mi}}

|level = }}

File:Passing place on the B836 - geograph.org.uk - 3122142.jpg on the narrow B836, which forms a large part of the 478's route]]

The 478 is a bus route in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, which runs between Dunoon and Portavadie via Tighnabruiach and Kames.{{Cite web |title=Find Portavadie, Loch Fyne, Argyll, Scotland |url=https://www.portavadie.com/getting-here/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=www.portavadie.com}}{{Cite book |last=Murphy |first=Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O6d8AwAAQBAJ&dq=478+dunoon%E2%80%93portavadie+bus+route&pg=PA77 |title=Scotland Highlands & Islands Footprint Handbook |date=2014-04-10 |publisher=Footprint Travel Guides |isbn=978-1-909268-62-3 |pages=77 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Council |first=Argyll and Bute |title=478 Dunoon - Tighnabruaich - Portavadie {{!}} Argyll and Bute Council |url=https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/public-transport/timetables-directory/timetable/478-dunoon-tighnabruaich |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=www.argyll-bute.gov.uk |language=en}} It is operated by West Coast Motors, which was established in 1921. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport inaugurated the route, along with that of the 477 and 479, in October 1993. The route is noted for its long stretches of single-track roads with scattered passing places,{{Cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=Nicky |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7lZxro1A_5wC&dq=478+dunoon%E2%80%93portavadie+bus+route&pg=PA217 |title=Bus-Pass Britain |last2=Kries |first2=Susanne |date=2011 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=978-1-84162-376-4 |pages=217 |language=en}} especially along the B836 between Sandbank and Auchenbreck, at the junction with the A886 Colintraive–to–Strachur road. The drivers of the 477, 478 and 479 have dubbed their routes the "Bermuda Triangle" due to their complexity and remoteness.

Given the distance covered by the route ({{Convert|28|mi}}), it only runs eight times a day, Monday to Saturday (four in the morning and four in the afternoon). The first bus departs Dunoon Pier at 5:48 AM (terminating at Tighnabruiach's Royal an Lochan hotel; the second run is the first to terminate at Portavadie ferry terminal); the last one at 5:30 PM. The journey takes between an hour and an hour and a half.[https://www.westcoastmotors.co.uk/services/WCMO/478?date=2023-09-26&direction=outbound&all=on 478 Dunoon to Colintraive (for Isle of Bute) & Portavadie] – West Coast Motors official website{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |title=Loch Lomond & Cowal Way - Here. Now. All of us. |url=https://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/things-to-do/walking/long-distance-routes/loch-lomond-cowal-way/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park |language=en}} On weekdays, additional stops in Dunoon, Hunters Quay, Ardnadam and Sandbank occur in the mid-afternoon to support the release of children from local schools.{{Cite web |date=2020-05-21 |title=SCOTLAND'S BERMUDA TRIANGLE |url=https://www.keybuses.com/article/scotlands-bermuda-triangle |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=www.keybuses.com |language=en}}