ERI service axed in bus route shake-up
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
A BUS route serving Edinburgh’s main hospital is to be scrapped as part of a timetable shake-up forced by Scottish Government funding cuts.
Other services will be stripped down and have their frequency reduced as Lothian Buses attempts to adapt to financial pressure and falling passenger numbers.
The organisation’s managing director Ian Craig alluded to the changes a fortnight ago in the Evening News, blaming the switch on the loss of millions of pounds’ worth of Holyrood cuts.
Now the full list of reductions – including the ceasing of the 48 service from Dalkeith to Ratho, via the ERI – has been revealed in a council document ahead of next week’s transport committee meeting.
Despite the move, Lothian Buses said it had tweaked services to cover most routes and that the company would still provide an “excellent service”.
Mr Craig said: “It is a legal requirement for Lothian Buses to register in advance any service changes with the Traffic Commissioner. We constantly monitor our services and on several occasions throughout the year introduce such changes to maintain the highest possible levels of reliability across our routes.
“With regard to services 7/33 and X48 listed as ‘Cancellations to services’ in section 3.5 of the report, Lothian Buses can reassure customers that these routes will continue to be covered by other services.
“In accordance with standard company practice, Lothian Buses will publish its revised timetables before any planned service changes come into effect.”
Although the 48 and the express X48 will be lost from March 4, some of its stops will be covered by the 33, which will be extended to run to the Sheriffhall park and ride.
At the other end of the route, the 12 service will pick up some of the slack, including providing a service from the city centre to Ratho Village, which it is legally obliged to do.
But Fernieside resident Brian Edgar, who lives with his elderly parents, said that people of similar age in the area would be upset at the changes to the 33 route which would see some roads being missed out.
The 46-year-old shepherd told the Evening News: “People here are up in arms about this.
“It might not seem like a big change to you or me, but for elderly people it’s a difficult walk.
“I think there are ways this could have been avoided, I sat myself and looked at it and within two minutes came up with a solution.”
The city council’s director of services for communities Mark Turley said: “Although it is disappointing that Lothian Buses has found it necessary to make these changes, it is clear that the company has gone to some lengths both to reduce their impact and to meet its contractual obligations as regards the Ratho bus service.”
Bus Timetable Changes
No 7: extended to terminate at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
No 8: re-routed to operate via Leith Street instead of York Place.
No 19: section of route between Leith Street and King’s Road will be withdrawn after 8.30pm each evening.
No 20: extended to the Gyle Centre.
No 23: reduced from six buses an hour to five.
No 27: reduced from six buses an hour to four.
No 30: reduced from six buses an hour to five.
No 33: extended to terminate at Sheriffhall Park and Ride, to compensate for loss of 48/X48.
No 47/X47:Sunday service will be extended to terminate at Penicuik.
No 48/X48: withdrawn.
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Comments
There are 19 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
Craigie Boy
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 09:47 PMTo earn the name "Lothian Buses", you surely must operate to all parts of the Lothians. LB don't go into West Lothian and serve only the westernmost communities of East Lothian (Tranent, Musselburgh etc., no buses to Haddington, North Berwick, Dunbar). Strange also that the company are legally obliged to serve the tiny village of Ratho but not the large settlements of Kirkliston and South Queensferry, both of which are in The City of Edinburgh, never mind "The Lothians".
203david
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 09:34 PMCan't believe they are reducing the 19 service after 8:30 at night. LRT suggest using 25 and 49 to get to teh east of the city - would be ok if the frequecy of these was increased!!! Utter pants
sunnyview
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 07:36 PMlothian region transport is still the best providers,we moved here to perthshire seven years ago and totally rely on public transport, but sorry to say it has the worst transport going. The quality of some of the buses are awful, they very seldom run on time,and that is with an hourly service on some routes two hourly, and a lot of services do not excist on sundays it is like living in the dark ages.but that is what happens when one company has the monopoly after running competitors of the road, so there is no choice here,but that is stagecoach.Needless to say we will be heading back to edinburgh where the transport we think is second to none,you dont realise what you miss till you dont have it and believe me when you rely on public transport to get around you need reliable providers.
1874 Jam Tarts
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 07:26 PMSNP = Tartan Tories = cuts, cuts, cuts. Council Tax freeze - great idea eh?!
seemecu
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 06:32 PMAs a user of the Sherrifhall park & ride, the current bus service to the city centre is poor at best and usually takes longer than the 40 mile drive up from the Borders. This further reduction means we will no longer use this facility, or indeed Edinburgh. Like an increasing number of other Borderers we will now go south to Newcastle.
RS here
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 05:49 PM9 bobthebuilder49 ... a bus every 12mins......still a good service...ty living out of town were a bus every hour is classified as a good service
Snoopy1
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 04:22 PMInstead of spending all that cash on trams,which is a white elephant,it could have been used to improve the bus services in the city as a hole for all,instead we are going to end up with the trams that will only serve a very small percentage of the population who live and work in Edinburgh, instead of the majority who live outside the city centre,but must travel into the city to there place of work,that is why there is park and ride,so that congestion would be reduced in the city centre,but this will only be achevied if there is a good bus service to transport people to there place of work,and get them there on time,that is why buses are more flexible,routes can be adjusted without having all the disruption in the laying of tram lines,as we have at present in Edinburgh,which is a disgrace.
noodle doodle
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 04:14 PM#3 LRT seem to think less buses means more people will be at the bus stop when the buses eventually turn up. Except for those who say a) nads to this, i'm staying in or start walking and b) those who jump on whatever other service stops there instead if it gets them close enough to where they're going
DiamondKid
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 03:11 PMYes, the 47 is back to Penicuik on a Sunday. See that Lothian have more info up on their website.
Brian Waspsnest
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 02:49 PMI agree with mrcrisps at #2
bobthebuilder49
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 01:07 PMI am very disappointed about the reduction of the 27 service. From Crewe Toll to Granton Road this is the only service available which serves the City Centre, I already felt this route was under provided and this reduction on makes matters worse.
Belle du Jeer
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 01:04 PMConsort are obviously not making enough from parking charges, because the sick have the impudence to use public transport to get to their Everlasting Revenue Inducer. . . . . . Anonymous Middleman: "Psst, wanta nive fat broon envelope?" . . . . . Councillor: "What do you want for it?" . . . . . Middleman: "Just a few bus route changes."
Sally Longlegs
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 12:55 PMI see the 22 has not been reduced. And with a billion pounds being spent on its replacement too.
finlee
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 12:50 PMI know what the big hoo haa is with this, for years the 7 turns has turned into the 33 and vice versa making it more or less a circle route so people are using one bus for 2 services which is costing the company money so they think ok lets delete the 48 which isn’t all that busy a service (park & ride situated on WRONG side of the by-pass means it’s not that popular) and they extend the 33 to cover that area and the 7 goes a little further and does the hospital making the circle into 2 separate services. Really people it’s not rocket science and given that for years the commuters of Edinburgh have had an award winning service from Lothian buses (been YEARS since it was LRT) I fear they have been spoilt far too long and have gotten too comfortable with it. Times are hard people and everyone has to make cuts even big businesses. The good thing about this story is that the 47 will now go further that the park & ride on a Sunday which gets a huge thumbs up from moi
GavinHogg
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 12:49 PMI Blame the Trams!!! #1.ERI, RIE ?? How petty..
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