Measures to protect Lothian Bus drivers from Halloween and Bonfire Night disorder 'ramped up'
It comes after services were withdrawn from a busy route last year during antisocial behaviour incident
Measures to protect bus drivers in Edinburgh are being ramped up during the 'peak’ of antisocial behaviour over the Halloween and Bonfire Night period.
Patrols and procedures are being put in place to protect employees after a number of incidents in previous years saw the city’s bus drivers confronted with disorder and threatening behaviour, particularly from young people.
While reports of violence and disorder were down overall in 2025, according to Police Scotland, some services were still withdrawn from areas such as Sighthill amid isolated confrontations.
Unite industrial officer Lyn Turner told the Evening News that a visible presence on “hotspot” routes has made a difference for drivers in recent years, saying : “Our representatives or our branch officials go out on patrol with both police and representatives from Lothian Buses, so there's a joint working in regards to it.
“Bus drivers then see a big benefit in that because they see that their representatives are going out and they actually care.
“I can go back to two or three years ago, where the drivers were going into hotspots and there was no kind of backup there.”
He added: “After what we've seen, it's considerably being ramped up now.
“We need to look after [drivers] because why would you want to come to work to be abused or to receive antisocial behaviour, whether it's a brick coming through a window or a firework coming through the cab when you open the door?”
As well as a physical presence from union representatives, company representatives and police officers in hotspot areas, other measures such as police officers in control rooms will allow cases to be responded to immediately, while the option to temporarily restrict routes and services also remain an option.
Mr Turner added: “I can't fault Lothian Buses for what we've suggested and spoke to them about that they've put in place to have that support for the driver.
“That doesn't take away our concern about anti-social behaviour on passenger transport. If it happens once, it's once too many and there's a nervousness at the moment around Halloween and 5th of November and the lead-up to that period.”
David Cameron, Head of Operations for Lothian Buses, said: “The safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and customers is our top priority, and we take a zero-tolerance approach to antisocial behaviour.
“Working closely with Police Scotland, Unite and our partners, we have strengthened measures across key areas, including a visible presence and coordinated patrols to support a swift response to incidents. Where necessary, we will remove services from specific areas to protect colleagues and customers.
“We also remain focused on prevention, building positive relationships with young people and communities through our Youth Engagement Strategy and engagement with schools.”
It comes as Police Scotland launched Operation Moonbeam, the annual dedicated taskforce to tackle disorder on the country’s streets through this period.
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During the launch of the operation, Chief Superintendent David Robertson, gold commander for Operation Moonbeam 2026, said “For the last couple of years, we’ve seen improvement – but we are not complacent.
“The behaviour that we’ve seen has been experienced by some communities in Scotland for over 10 years now, so we must continue to work with partners to do everything we can to prevent this behaviour.
“We understand how impactful this can be and we are really committed, and I will be clear this behaviour simply has to stop. We’ll be there standing shoulder to shoulder with communities to protect them.
“To those who may be intent on engaging in disorder, the message is really clear: we will identify you, we will arrest you, and we will bring you to justice.”