Edinburgh Airport told to launch bus route with drop-off profit

Published on Friday 29 April 2011 17:02

EDINBURGH Airport bosses are being urged to channel profits from their controversial drop-off charge into funding a bus route to make it easier for passengers to use public transport.

Around 1000 people have signed a petition calling on airport operator BAA to use its new source of income to help subsidise a bus service to the airport along the Queensferry Road corridor.

In October, the airport began charging motorists 1 a time for dropping off passengers close to the terminal despite a high-profile campaign against the move.

BAA says the scheme is working well and has removed congestion.

But Alex Cole-Hamilton, Liberal Democrat candidate in Edinburgh Central, wants some of the money raised from the charges to go into providing a new bus service to the airport.

He said: "When the airport introduced this hugely unpopular charge, they justified it as a means of reducing emissions and encouraging car owners to think about using public transport. But it's clear from what residents have told me that there are inadequate public transport links to the airport."

He said Lothian Buses' Airlink service along the Corstorphine Road corridor did not cater for people in the north of the city.

"A bus along the Queensferry Road corridor would make it easier for people to use public transport to get to the airport. And after community consultation about where it was most needed, it could go to Stockbridge or somewhere else. It would not have to be the same frequency as the Airlink bus. A half-hourly or even an hourly service would be welcomed."

He said there was still a lot of anger about the 1 charge. "The airport has lost a lot of face in the community over this. People feel it is profiteering. This is an opportunity for them to pour oil on troubled waters and get back a bit of community appreciation."

Mr Cole-Hamilton said around 1000 people had signed his petition on the issue.

He also wrote to airport managing director Kevin Brown, who replied that the airport already spent 250,000 a year from car parking revenue on encouraging public transport links.

Mr Brown said bus company E&M Horsburgh had operated an hourly service to the airport from July 2009 to December 2010, serving Cramond, Barnton, Davidson's Mains, Craigleith, Pilton, the Western General Hospital and Ferry Road, but it had been withdrawn due to the small number of passengers joining or leaving at the airport.

A BAA spokesman said 15p of every pound raised by the charge went into a fund which would support community and environmental projects in and around the airport, with the rest of the income being reinvested in the airport.