Edinburgh coach driver criticised for 'incredibly dangerous' parking in busy pedestrian area

Coach driver shouts at councillor after parking in busy pedestrian space

An Edinburgh councillor was ‘shouted and pointed at’ by a coach driver after he pulled them up for parking in one of the city’s busiest pedestrian spaces to pick up tourists.

Finlay McFarlane was left “so aghast” as a bus mounted the pavement outside Registrar House at the east end of Princes Street before reversing whilst people crossed the road on Wednesday morning, June 7. He said the driver argued they “had no choice” but to park there to collect hotel guests – but added their actions could have left someone “very seriously hurt”.

The SNP councillor for city centre said he would be in touch with the Germany-based coach operator – which he remarked had “ironically” been given an ‘operator of the year’ award – to “ensure that peoples safety is never endangered in this way again”. He said: “I thought it was important to speak to the driver myself and ask them if they were aware that what they had done was incredibly dangerous and that reversing out of the pavement could seriously risk peoples public safety”.

The coach driver mounted the pavement at the east end of Princes Street, Edinburgh

However, Councillor McFarlane said the driver “responded by shouting and pointing in my face that it was ‘no problem at all, he would only be there five minutes’”. He pointed out the council had put enhancements on Regent Road precisely to better facilitate the tour buses and coaches just minutes away. “Someone could have been very seriously hurt,” he added. “Imagine if someone with visual impairment crossed at the signal directly into the reversing coach. It is utterly unacceptable.

“Alongside other pedestrians crossing I was so aghast at the entitlement of the coach driver and what I was witnessing. “The irony of ‘coach operator of the year 2014’ being emblazoned across the side of the vehicle as it reversed backwards into pedestrians crossing at the green man and oncoming traffic was not lost on me.”

Coach operator Jürgens Reisen was contacted for comment.