Lothian announce route and fare changes
Lothian has announced some changes to routes and also an increase in the single fare which will go up to £1.70. Other fares which will increase will include Adult and Student Ridacards but Day tickets, children’s fares, Airport and Nightbus fares will all remain the same.
From 25 February there will be some changes to routes following feedback from customers and councils. These will include:
Additional express buses are introduced on service the X31, X33 and X37 services.
More late evening services on the number 18 which will also have increased capacity at peak times.
Service 3 will be re-routed along Melville Road to avoid congestion on the A7.
Services 39 and 40 will be replaced by EastCoastBuses 139 and 140, while service 21 will now run with double-deckers to meet growing customer demand along the route. With the introduction of a new Monday to Friday journey on service N31, all of Lothian’s Nightbus network will now operate 7 days a week.
Lothian Country service 43/X43 will be extended to Ferrymuir Retail Park at all times Monday to Saturday following requests from Queensferry Community Council and customers in new housing developments in this area.
Nigel Serafini Commercial Director at Lothian, said: “We are pleased to be able to offer further improvements to our network of services, building on the success of changes we made in 2017. Responding to customer feedback, our commercial team has adapted frequencies and capacity on several routes we operate to ensure that we continue to provide the best possible service for our customers and the communities we serve.
“With our operating costs continuing to rise due to a combination of ongoing congestion, increased staffing levels, wage inflation and our increased investment in people training and development, we will be making some changes to fares from the same date. We are also continuing to re-invest in low emission buses for the benefit of all our customers and our capital city, lessening the impact on the environment while continuing to develop and provide a comprehensive network of services across Edinburgh and the Lothians.”
In 2017 the company invested substantially in 86 new vehicles, including the introduction of Edinburgh’s first fully electric vehicles on to service 1. Investment is set to continue in 2018 with a further fleet of vehicles due for delivery across the year, providing customers with modern, low emission buses and the latest technology to help simplify bus travel for all.
Full details of all schedule changes are now available at www.lothianbuses.co.uk/newsor from Lothian Buses twitter account @on_lothianbuses and Lothian Buses Facebook page.
Main service changes:
Service 3
Revised route & timetable – buses will revert back to the pre-April 2017 route at Eskbank via Melville Road to avoid traffic queues on the A7. This change is introduced after feedback from regular customers.
Service 5
Revised timetable. Monday to Friday, daytime frequency reduced from every 12-mins to every 15-mins. No change to Saturday or Sunday timetable (every 15-mins Saturday and every 30-mins Sunday).
Service 10
Revised route at Western Harbour with buses now operating via Sandpiper Road due to long-term closure of Newhaven Place. Minor timetable revisions including an additional later journey to and from Bonaly on Mondays to Saturdays, after feedback from Colinton Community Council. No change to Sunday timetable.
Service 15/X15
Minor timetable changes to the morning peak timetable to introduce an additional journey from Tollcross to Easter Bush in order to provide more capacity for the Vet School and Pentland Science Park after feedback from regular customers. No change to the Saturday timetable.
Service 18
Revised timetable introduced after feedback from regular customers. These changes will address reliability issues and additional peak journeys will improve capacity. Later evening journey introduced from the Gyle and the Fort on Mondays to Saturdays. Earlier Sunday morning journey introduced to and from the Fort.
Service 19
Revised timetable with Monday to Friday daytime frequency reduced from every 15-mins to every 20-mins. Peak enhancement will continue at key critical times to and from Granton. No changes to Saturday or Sunday timetable – frequency still every 20-mins daytime.
Service 29
Revised timetable introduced with most Monday to Friday daytime journeys operating Birkenside to Silverknowes. As a result, the off-peak frequency reduces from every 15-mins to every 20-mins. On Sundays, a later evening service will operate to and from Birkenside to match the Monday to Saturday timetable. Minor changes to the Saturday timetable.
Service X31
Revised timetable introduced with one additional journey introduced in both peaks in order to increase capacity after feedback from regular customers.
Service X33
Revised morning timetable with one additional journey introduced in order to increase capacity after feedback from regular customers.
Service 37/X37/47/X47
On Mondays to Fridays a revised early morning timetable is introduced to improve reliability. During the morning peak, one 37 journey is converted to operate as X37 to provide additional capacity after feedback from regular customers. Minor timetable changes on Saturdays & Sundays.
Service 39
WITHDRAWN and replaced by ECB 139 on same route and timetable.
Service 40
WITHDRAWN and replaced by NEW ECB 140 on a revised route & timetable.
Service 42
Revised timetable to improve reliability. Service extended to and from Craigleith later into the evening on Mondays to Saturdays, however, late evening journeys between the City Centre and Portobello are withdrawn due to low levels of customer demand. Minor timetable changes on Sundays, but no change to the number of journeys operated.
Service 43/X43
Revised morning and afternoon peak timetable introduced on Mondays to Fridays with a slightly enhanced frequency in order to provide additional capacity after feedback from Queensferry Community Council and local councillors. ALL Monday to Saturday journeys on the 43 & X43 will now operate through Ferrymuir Retail Park. In the evenings, an additional journey from the City Centre at 20:45 will maintain the 30-min frequency for an extra hour. The X43 stopping pattern is slightly amended with buses now observing all stops between Barnton and Clermiston Road North in both directions. Minor changes to the Sunday timetable, but buses will not serve Ferrymuir.
Service 69
Revised route and minor changes to timetable. Buses will now revert back to the pre-April 2017 route direct via Portobello Road. Wakefield Avenue / Fillyside and Craigentinny Avenue will no longer be served due to very low levels of customer demand.
Service 300
Minor timetable changes to slightly reduce morning peak frequency between Fountainbridge and Ingliston P&R. Earlier morning journey introduced from Ocean Terminal to Airport on Saturdays and Sundays. Buses will now serve RBS Gogarburn during Saturday and Sunday daytime.
Service N31
Revised timetable with a NEW Monday to Friday morning journey introduced from the City Centre to Bonnyrigg at 00:30. Saturday and Sunday morning journeys will now be operated by single deck vehicles to better reflect levels of customer demand.
Service N44
Revised route and timetable introduced. Buses will now operate between the City Centre and Balerno. The route to Musselburgh, Wallyford and Tranent will now be covered by new ECB Service N113.