I will be cycling to the barbers tomorrow, sometimes I catch the bus. You can park there all day if you keep an eye out for law enforcement and move the vehicle when they arrive saying sorry officer I was just loading some Curlers into the shop.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
Bus latest
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Posted 2 months ago #
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‘Everything is being done to accommodate Lothian Buses, but nothing is being done to accommodate the community’ - Norman Rees
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Posted 1 month ago # -
Which community is Mr Rees representing? His last appearance was objecting to the Manse Road bus gate; now he’s objecting to West Craigs residents having a bus service.
“Due to community concerns, we the community council conducted a survey - we polled 972 members of the community and 70 per cent were against the bus gate, and those in favour would prefer it to be peak times only.
I’m sure this poll was conducted properly and in no way was self-selecting.
No surprise to see the Lib Dems supporting their core demographic (angry middle class drivers)
“I am sympathetic with the fact Lothian Buses say they will not put a service in here unless there’s bus prioritisation. I just think there are other, better ways of doing that will mean we are not shutting off road safety projects.”
So will Kevin Lang state what these “other, better ways” are? And will he explain how they will allow buses to magically skip past the queues of traffic on Turnhouse Road?
Posted 1 month ago # -
In case I wasn't the only person who parsed "Corstorphine East and West Craigs" as "Corstorphine East, and West Craigs" and was confused...it's really "East Craigs and West Craigs".
Boundary map is here: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/35998/corstorphine-east-and-west-craigs-boundary-effective-28-march-2025
The boundaries on community councils changed (relatively) recently. It's quite possible that prior to that change, Mr Rees's Community Council covered the Manse Road area.
Posted 1 month ago # -
‘Everything is being done to accommodate Lothian Buses, but nothing is being done to accommodate the community’ - Norman Rees
Wait til someone tells this guy who's riding on Lothian's Buses...
Posted 1 month ago # -
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Giving bus passengers priority is not anti-car but best use of road space, says bus firm boss
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Posted 1 month ago # -
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City’s buses and trams both named best in the UK
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https://www.edinburghinquirer.co.uk/p/britains-best-buses-and-trams?r=3e3735
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
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This UK city is officially one of the best in the world for public transport
Edinburgh came fourth in Time Out’s global ranking, ahead of Zurich, Vienna and Seoul
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Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Announcement by Scottish Government to publicly regulate bus routes has not gone down well with McGill's (Flix operator along with other brands)
On Radio Scotland this morning their spokesperson pointed out that McGill's has been judged best operator in the UK and therefore Scotland. As a local company it will defend any attempt to 'confiscate' its business. They are threatening court action it seems.
Their spokesperson did point out that ideas like the Bee Network in Manchester are very expensive. BBC asked him if the £2 fare was costing them (McGill's) money but should have asked if passenger numbers were up(!)
Would seem certain they are with Scot Gov patching in the difference (aka shadow fare).Posted 1 week ago # -
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Bus passenger numbers plummet since SNP took power as Swinney urged to allow public ownership
Campaigners are calling for John Swinney to expand his bus franchise plans to open the door for public ownership.
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Posted 4 days ago # -
Passenger journeys fell by 7% for Scotland and 10% for Great Britain over the past five years. Vehicle kilometres in both Scotland and Great Britain fell by 12% over the same period. (Table 2.2a and 2.3a)
The declining trend in bus use contrasts with train travel in Scotland. Train accounts for only a quarter of the passenger journeys made by bus, but saw steady increases in passenger numbers over the years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Table SGB1)
From Transport Scotland
https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/scottish-transport-statistics-2025/chapter-2-bus-and-coach-travel/Not saying figures haven't gone down but saying 'plummet' is contrary to what I'm seeing on our journeys up and down every week.
Even village bus is busier now with more youngsters on board. Ember buses running busy today with new routes picking up extra trade. Displaced rail passengers too. Every bus late though due to congestion. Even public ownership can't defeat the fact roads are shared with other drivers. That's why 7/7 bus lanes are great in cities Rurally delays are random with logging trucks, giant tractors, 4x4s etcPosted 3 days ago # -
I think the current debate about buses is about as stupid as you can get. All the focus is on inputs - ownership, regulatory structures, the extent of concessionary fares schemes and so on. I would argue that the focus should be on outcomes - what levels of service do we want to see. Start from there and then work backwards to design a system likely to produce those outcomes. I think we would need a network of regional/local systems, rather than one Scotland-wide approach.
A few examples of the dumbness of the current debate include:
We keep hearing about the big, bad private sector - then everyone lauds Ember, which is a private company.
We keep hearing about franchising - yet it would likely destroy the publicly owned Lothian Buses, which carries more than a third of all Scottish bus passnegers.
We keep hearing about the rip-roaring success of concessionary fares (now costing roughly £0.5 billion per year), yet the number of bus passengers continues to decline.
The £2 bus fare cap? The Scottish Government's rush to intrduce this in Strathclyde within 100 days of the election meant they had to stuff bus operators' mouths with gold to participate. So it costs Scottish taxpayers hugely more for each trip made then the English scheme.
It's all very disheartening.
Posted 3 days ago # -
@M
Good analysis
Posted 3 days ago #
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