Edinburgh buses: Cancellation of Edinburgh's 41 bus service labelled ‘a disgrace’ by residents

Bus which provides a direct link for elderly residents into Edinburgh city centre will discontinue at the end of the month
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Residents in the south of the city has been left ‘shocked’ after hearing a crucial bus service that provided a direct link for many into the city centre will be discontinued on May 28.

Locals say that the 41 bus, that travelled from the Edinburgh University King’s Buildings near Mayfield Road through Blackford and The Grange before passing through the city centre and onto Cammo was a well used bus that served a large elderly community in the area.Several residents expressed that although the 41 will be replaced by the number 9 and 47 service, the new routes do not provide as direct a route into the town centre that the 41 did and this will make it more difficult for elderly and disabled residents to travel into town. And they said although the 24 bus service will continue, it drops passengers off at the west end meaning longer walking periods for residents.

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Resident Elizabeth Munro, said: “The Grange area has a lack of services compared to other parts of the city. Reducing the number of bus services is making this worse and is increasing the need to use cars to get into town and beyond. There’s quite a lot of elderly people in the area and people in supported accommodation and they use the bus quite a lot as well as local residents because you wouldn’t take your car into town if you can avoid it these days.” Mrs Munro, who uses the 41 bus service every week said: “I’m totally up for taking public transport but it feels like public transport is not getting better it’s becoming more awkward.”

The 41 bus service will be withdrawn on May 28The 41 bus service will be withdrawn on May 28
The 41 bus service will be withdrawn on May 28

Kilgraston Road resident Hilary Rae described the move as ‘another nail in the coffin for Princes Street.’ Ms Rae said: “This means that the Grange, Marchmont and Sciennes will have no direct access to Princes Street. I use the 41 to go shopping in town – I think it is a disgrace.”

While resident Jean Watson described the removal of the bus as ‘shocking’ . She said ‘it means we can only get a bus to one end of Princes Street or the other.’ Mrs Watson said the area has a large elderly community and the bus route imposed at the end of the month will force many residents with mobility issues will face longer walks to access the town centre.

More residents shared their views online with one saying ‘The 41 has been a lifeline for many in this area – this has been done without any consultation’ and another adding ‘this is awful – I am not happy about this.’ But others took a more sympathetic view saying it was important to remember that Lothian Buses is ‘a business which will have suffered in the last few years’ and they need to invest in the most popular bus routes.

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A Lothian Spokesperson said: “Lothian is committed to delivering for all of our customers. Following frequent and lengthy analysis of customer numbers across our network we took the difficult decision to withdraw Service 41 from Sunday 28 May due to low customer usage.

Local resident, Jean Watson, described the removal of the bus as ‘shocking’Local resident, Jean Watson, described the removal of the bus as ‘shocking’
Local resident, Jean Watson, described the removal of the bus as ‘shocking’

“Customers on the southern end of the route will continue to be served by our new Service 9 which will follow the current route from King’s Buildings to Potterrow, then via Nicholson Square, where connections are available to Queensferry Street and Queensferry Road, as well as connections nearby for Princes Street, Broughton Street/Picardy Place. Additionally, our Service 24 continues to serve Blackford, Marchmont and the Grange, providing connections to Queensferry Street/Queensferry Road at Lothian Road as well as stopping on Princes Street and Frederick Street.”

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