Lothian Buses: Join this ‘Save Our Bus’ march – Hayley Matthews

writes Hayley Matthews.

Dumbiedykes residents protest against the loss of the No.6 bus service (Picture: Alistair Linford)

When I was walking to the Tun down by Holyrood during the week, the amount of “Save Our Bus” posters that were about the place indicated a sense that most people in the area are against doing away with the No.6 bus service that runs to Holyrood and by Dumbiedykes.

For the locals and businesses in the area, the end of the service will be detrimental for so many who depend on it. And I think the fact that publicly owned Lothian Buses has announced all this without any sniff of a consultation is wrong. They just simply said that they were ending the service at the end of March and are expecting everyone to just suck it up.

This is the only bus we have left serving Dumbiedykes and surrounding areas and to do this to the locals just doesn’t make sense.

This outrageous cut to services means that some of the most vulnerable members in the community will be isolated. It’s not just the inconvenience of having no bus service but for many, the inability to access many vital services such as chemists, doctors, dentist, post office and shops will leave them extremely put out. None of these things exist in Dumbiedykes after a series of cuts and I don’t think the people of Dumbiedykes should be ignored or treated this way!

It’s not just about the locals – with tourism being a huge income regulator, you’d think we’d be doing all we can to cart people down to Holyrood.

If you’re not happy about it and you’re in the area then speak up because this is going to have a direct impact on many people. Attend the public meeting on the 10th of this month to protest the cuts and help us “Save Our Bus”.

Let’s make sure that the No.6 carries on and that our voices are heard.