Bus stop taken off route

One of the most popular stops on one of the few cross-Midlothian bus routes is to be dropped when the service switches to a different operator later this month.

The Lothian Bus service number 40 at Hardengreen Tesco, Dalkeith

Lothian Buses’ 39 and 40 services will be operated by East Coast Buses as the 139 and 140 from February 25. The two routes will keep the same routes, though the 140 will not go into Tesco Hardengreen - a stop used by students at the neighbouring Edinburgh College Midlothian Campus.

A spokesperson for Lothian Buses, which East Coast Buses is a subsidiary of, said: “Maintaining a reliable timetable on service 40 has been challenging, due to ever increasing levels of delays caused by congestion in Musselburgh, Dalkeith, Bonnyrigg and Loanhead.

“In order to improve reliability across this route, we are introducing changes which include the withdrawal of the service from Tesco Hardengreen. However the new Service 140 will continue to observe bus stops on Bonnyrigg Road, outside Tesco, which are only a short walk from the store.

“These changes will allow us to continue to provide the best possible service for our customers and the communities we serve.”

The spokesperson added that the 49 and 139 bus services will continue to divert off the main road to serve the internal bus stop at Tesco Hardengreen.