Funding for Midlothian bus service

The Scottish Government has allocated over £800,000 in funding to support three bus partnerships including one in Midlothian.

Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth.

The Midlothian Bus Alliance joins 10 other partnerships involving 28 local authorities across Scotland.

Supported through the Bus Partnership Fund, local authorities and bus operators are joining forces to implement bus priority measures to encourage more people to take the bus. These could be bus lanes, guided busways and traffic light prioritisation.

Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth said: “I’m pleased that these three new bus partnerships are making plans to improve bus services and have won funding through our flagship Bus Partnership Fund.

“We’ve invested heavily to keep buses running during the pandemic – but we need to go further to put buses at the heart of our green recovery, helping to tackle inequalities and to keep Scotland moving.

“We’re incentivising bus travel through the provision of free bus travel to under 22s.

"We’re also supporting bus operators transition to modern zero emission vehicles.

" The next step is to unshackle our buses from the congestion on our roads and provide those quicker, more reliable journeys that will ensure more people make the choice of bus over the car.

“Our action on concessionary travel and on bus decarbonisation will support communities, businesses and our environment by ensuring that taking the bus is one of the best ways to travel.”