Jason Rust: Left in the dark by withdrawal of night buses

Published on Monday 12 October 2009 09:14

Service cuts leave residents excluded from city centre, says Jason Rust

A PRESIDENT, who is also the First Citizen of the country, issued instructions this month for the operation of a night bus service for the convenience of the public. Twenty-odd buses left for different destinations at the official launch. Sadly, thousands of miles away in Sri Lanka.

Bad news for night owls in Edinburgh where we have experienced savage cutbacks to our nighttime service, especially in the south-west of the city. Four bus services which serve the area surrounding Colinton have been removed in the past year, leaving absolutely no nighttime service to anywhere in the south-west of Edinburgh from Sunday until Thursday.

It cannot be appropriate for one area of Edinburgh to be completely isolated from night bus services. Changed days from 2005, when clubbers, pub-goers and shift workers were making half-a-million trips a year on the Capital's night buses following a dramatic rise in their popularity.

An international tourist destination maybe, but for many residents the possibility of enjoying Edinburgh's nightlife is now a non-starter. In order for anyone from the south-west of Edinburgh to return to their homes from the city centre Sunday to Thursday they need to use a taxi or drive, increasing CO2 emissions. That does not say much for our environmental policies, nor for thoughts of safety for vulnerable often low-paid workers.

We live in economically challenging times, with record fuel prices and, of course, neither Lothian Buses nor the council has bottomless pockets, but the complete weekday removal of so many night services is without precedent.

Night buses were removed from Sri Lankan towns in the 1980s through fear of terrorism, in Edinburgh because it's the easy option. As soon as an economic upturn starts we need to seriously consider reinstatement of these vital social services, which are worthy of protection for young and elderly alike, so that Edinburgh residents currently under curfew are not left in the dark.

Councillor Jason Rust is convener of Pentlands Neighbourhood Partnership