"East Coast buses already does... a, b, c, d, e, and f."
Er, that's my point. That's Fake LB.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
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Posted 6 years ago #
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"Call me cynical. I don't care."
I suspect you're correct.
That's LB putting down some clear markers.
Needs to be raised with next Transport Convenor.
Posted 6 years ago # -
"That's Fake LB."
As in, "wholly owned subsidiary"?
Let's look at the ticketing info from the ECB FAQ:
---
Are Lothian Buses Ridacards valid on East Coast Buses?
Lothian Buses Ridacards are valid in zones A & B only.Are Day Tickets and Network Day Tickets valid on board East Coast Buses services?
Day Tickets (inc Family Day Tickets) are valid in zones a & b only. Network Day Tickets are valid in all zones.Are East Coast Buses DAYtickets valid on Lothian Buses?
County Day Tickets are not valid on Lothian Buses. countyPLUS Day tickets are valid on Lothian Buses day services and Edinburgh Trams (except Airport). Network Day tickets are valid on all zones ECB, Lothian Buses, Airlink, Skylink, Edinburgh Trams and are also valid on the following mornings NightHawk, NightBus and Airlink until 0430 hours.---
Looks like a zoned, integrated ticketing policy to me. "Fake LB" or not.
Posted 6 years ago # -
How can things like:
A commitment that the existing citybound bus lane is not compromised on approach to Dean Bridge
be "agreed" without any consultation?
It just makes a complete mockery of the consultation already completed on the Queensferry Rd / Learmonth Tce / Oxford Tce junction by introducing something new and potentially conflicting with it
Posted 6 years ago # -
"Looks like a zoned, integrated ticketing policy to me. "Fake LB" or not."
Yes but the (my) point is that (I think) LB only has one fare (or is there now some sort of 'outer' zone?), so might it introduce a zoning system to either make some existing routes no longer wholly flat fare or give up on other liveries/wholly owned subsidiaries?
Posted 6 years ago # -
@nedd1e_h
Good questions.
Eternal vigilance.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@chdot, yeah I suppose that's part of the reason why the different franchises exist.
After all it's currently possible to take a bus into East Lothian as far as Seton Sands or Tranent for the LB standard flat fare. Also possible to travel to Queensferry for the same, but only from Riccarton/Gyle (connecting services are available, but then you really need a day ticket).
Posted 6 years ago # -
So long as the 'countyPLUS day ticket' and 'All Network day ticket' are extended to cover all the new 'green' routes then I don't particularly see a problem with tickets.
Some debate will need to be had as to the zoning of these new routes, 'City Day tickets' (more correctly now, zone A-B day tickets, though not marketed such) are valid all the way to Tranent which is further than Queensferry. I imagine without the pre-existing #26 bus this would not have been the case.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Never mind the drivers - these buses have no temperature control so still blow hot air over the passengers even on the hottest days.
They have CCTV, wifi, automated announcements and USB charging ports, but no simple heating control. Welcome to the future, Lothian Buses-style.
The cost of fuel wasted to continually power a system to blow hot air in all year round must be staggering.
Posted 6 years ago # -
My experience of riding on buses in both the winter and the summer suggests that there must be some heating control available. I can believe that the engine heats buses up all through the year though.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Was on a bus yesterday. Downstairs as lots of bags to carry. Goodness knows how warm it must have been upstairs with all that glazing. Couldn't sit at the back as it was like an oven. My tip is to try to sit on "high seats" over wheel arches as you can catch a breeze from the open window slots when the bus is in motion.
Of course the best option on a sunny day is to hop on the bike! Free air conditioning included.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Various complaints to Lothian Buses over the years about full-blast heating during the summer have resulted in them trotting out the same response each time - drivers have no control over the heating (or cooling) on buses.
This has been confirmed by drivers too.
If it's supposed to be automatic, then they need a serious overhaul of the whichever thermostatic control system they use. Hot air in summer, cold air in winter - perhaps they buy the systems from Australia?
Posted 6 years ago # -
Spotted a Borders bus in Edinburgh today. Looked vaguely Lothian Buses to me, can anyone confirm/ unconfirmed this?
Posted 6 years ago # -
Maybe the thermostat is located right by an opening window. Punter opens window cos bus is too hot, thermostat gets cold & tries to heat bus...
Posted 6 years ago # -
@Gembo, I had that exact same thought on the way to Gorebridge today. I can't find a link and their website appears very different.
"On March 26 2017, Borders Buses took over First Scotland East’s operations in the Scottish Borders and will operate a network of bus routes across the Scottish Borders, Carlisle, East Lothian, Midlothian and Edinburgh area."
@threefromleith, with a large diesel engine there's no cost to running a heating system in the bus. Most of the energy in the fuel (c.55%) is being used to produce waste heat anyway. I'm sure you knew that though.
Posted 6 years ago # -
"Spotted a Borders bus in Edinburgh today. Looked vaguely Lothian Buses to me, can anyone confirm/ unconfirmed this?"
Aye I saw one too. Thought it looked quite Lothianish as well.
https://www.bordersbuses.co.uk
Twitter @bordersbuses
"Borders Buses shall be painted red and cream, like its parent company West Coast Motors. However, due to the quickness of the sale - and during the transition from First Border to Borders Buses - a range of vehicles will operate the routes."
http://www.westcoastmotors.co.uk
Different typeface, not so Lothian Buses-ish.
---
Since its inception West Coast Motors has remained privately owned by the Craig family and headquartered in Campbeltown, Argyll.
From humble beginnings in the early 1920's, the company now employs approximately 400 staff and has a fleet of 220 buses and coaches. The company incorporates the following brands:
City Sightseeing Glasgow, Bute and Oban
Glasgow Citybus
Kintyre Express
West Coast Tours
Fairline Coaches Ltd
Perryman's Buses Ltd
Borders Buses---
And yet, "customers will not be able to travel on Borders Buses using a Perryman’s Buses bus ticket and vice versa."
Posted 6 years ago # -
@crowriver and acsimpson thanks for info, confirmation and unconfirmation
Posted 6 years ago # -
From March:
Bus firm First set to withdraw from Scottish Borders
http://www.bordertelegraph.com/news/15140955.Bus_firm_First_set_to_withdraw_from_Scottish_Borders/
Borders Railway blamed for First Group bus sale
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-39204467
£3.5 million investment in Borders buses
Posted 6 years ago # -
Borders Buses holding company run by Colin Craig - Ian Craig's brother (former Lothian MD), shares Citylink services to Argyll (joint livery) and has contract for Glasgow-Edinburgh Airport (AIR) service. Not clear whether they operate X95 and X62 as Borders Buses since local printed timetable does not list times.
West Coast Motors also took over Stagecoach Western operations on islands although at one time there was a head to head on the Citylink Argyll routes. Perth 'tolerates?'
Posted 6 years ago # -
Yes Border Buses is operating x95. Timetables are online and fares are same as before for now.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I wonder if they will move to using Coaches and bringing it in line with Citylink branding? With coach operation there us the potential for cycle carriage to Glentress and Newcastleton
Posted 6 years ago # -
Judging by the photos on Twitter of the new buses purchased for Borders Buses, it's a mix of modern low emissions single deckers and a few double deckers for peak demand. No coaches that I've seen.
Posted 6 years ago # -
It's never been coaches as standard up until the early 00s was 30 plus year old seddons for 2 hour journeys
Posted 6 years ago # -
Is it my imagination, or do the new tour buses make a practice of going reeaalllyyy slowly? Is it something to do with not getting ahead of the recorded commentary?
(Lothian Buses' old habit of dawdling along slowly if they were ahead of schedule seems to be been eradicated. Either they've tightened up the schedules, or someone made it clear that it wasn't acceptable. They don't seem to do the "going to sleep at a random bus stop" thing either, which wasn't so obstructive, but was frustrating if you'd just run to catch the bus a few stops before!)
Posted 6 years ago # -
“
In just over a year, the new East Coast Buses has increased the total number of passengerss by 30 per cent to more than three million. What they have done is simple – and obvious: to put passengers back at the heart of the operation. New buses have been bought, with extra legroom, Tube-style route maps in the interiors, information screens and more attractive lighting. Demotivated staff have been given new uniforms, and their facilities, such as rest areas, improved.
“
Posted 6 years ago # -
I just wish East Coast Buses had been forced to find a more sensible stance for their N Berwick buses waiting to depart than at the bottom of Semple St. It creates even more lane weaving by cars across the cycle lane than usual, especially when Lothian buses are stacked up behind a static ECB bus. Nearly got taken out by a non-indicating Brummie the other morning, who then pulled angrily into the ASL at Morrison St to argue with me after I indicated my displeasure.
Posted 6 years ago # -
That whole sequence from Evans to the grassmarket is fraught with multiple lanes, including the famous bus lane next to the point hotel (formerly st cuthberts co-op) which is technically a redundant as a bus lane but with contraflow cycle lane. I have only ever spotted hankchief going for it. Currently the bus lane is cordoned off so people can't even park illegally in it.
In other news two days not last week but the week before there was no hole being dug in the cowgate. Which I believe is a first in the five years I have been going that way. Fear not on the third day a new hole was being created. Though it is at same spot as a previous hole so maybe not brand new. Actually unlikely there could ever be an actual new hole as every inch of the road has been dug up at some point in those five years.
Posted 6 years ago # -
The Anth of Wilmington's Horn used to use that contraflow bus lane quite a lot. I only seem to use it when I have a child in a seat, most recently when going to Evans to get my brakes recalled.
Posted 6 years ago #
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