Lothian Buses reveal fare increase and route changes

Lothian has announced a change to services as part of improvements following a review of its bus network but have also announced fares will increase for the first time in two years.
Lothian Buses have announced a 10p fare increaseLothian Buses have announced a 10p fare increase
Lothian Buses have announced a 10p fare increase

A number of changes will be introduced following external feedback from customers, community councils and other stakeholders.

Additional express buses are to be introduced on service the X31, X33 and X37 services.

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Changes to service 18 will see later evening journeys and more capacity at peak times and the service 3 will be re-routed along Melville Road, avoiding traffic congestion on the A7 to reduce journey times.

Some will be replaced however with services 39 and 40 will be replaced by EastCoastBuses 139 and 140, while service 21 will now run with double-deckers.

As part of the changes all of Lothian’s Nightbus network will now operate 7 days a week.

A fare review will also see some of the company’s fares increase for the first time in two years, with single tickets increased by 10p to £1.70.

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Adult and Student Ridacards, which were last increased in 2015 will also see an increase.

Fares for all Daytickets, Child singles and Child Ridacards will remain the same, as will Airport fares and Nightbus fares.

Nigel Serafini Commercial Director at Lothian, said: “We are pleased to be able to offer further improvements to our network of services, building on the success of changes we made in 2017.

“With our operating costs continuing to rise due to a combination of ongoing congestion, increased staffing levels, wage inflation and our increased investment in people training and development, we will be making some changes to fares from the same date. We are also continuing to re-invest in low emission buses for the benefit of all our customers and our capital city, lessening the impact on the environment while continuing to develop and provide a comprehensive network of services across Edinburgh and the Lothians.”

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Full details of all schedule changes are now available at www.lothianbuses.co.uk/news or from Lothian Buses twitter account @on_lothianbuses and Lothian Buses Facebook page.

Main service changes:

Service 3

Revised route & timetable – buses will revert back to the pre-April 2017 route at Eskbank via Melville Road to avoid traffic queues on the A7. This change is introduced after feedback from regular customers.

Service 5

Revised timetable. Monday to Friday, daytime frequency reduced from every 12-mins to every 15-mins. No change to Saturday or Sunday timetable (every 15-mins Saturday and every 30-mins Sunday).

Service 10

Revised route at Western Harbour with buses now operating via Sandpiper Road due to long-term closure of Newhaven Place. Minor timetable revisions including an additional later journey to and from Bonaly on Mondays to Saturdays, after feedback from Colinton Community Council. No change to Sunday timetable.

Service 15/X15

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Minor timetable changes to the morning peak timetable to introduce an additional journey from Tollcross to Easter Bush in order to provide more capacity for the Vet School and Pentland Science Park after feedback from regular customers. No change to the Saturday timetable.

Service 18

Revised timetable introduced after feedback from regular customers. These changes will address reliability issues and additional peak journeys will improve capacity. Later evening journey introduced from the Gyle and the Fort on Mondays to Saturdays. Earlier Sunday morning journey introduced to and from the Fort.

Service 19

Revised timetable with Monday to Friday daytime frequency reduced from every 15-mins to every 20-mins. Peak enhancement will continue at key critical times to and from Granton. No changes to Saturday or Sunday timetable – frequency still every 20-mins daytime.

Service 29

Revised timetable introduced with most Monday to Friday daytime journeys operating Birkenside to Silverknowes. As a result, the off-peak frequency reduces from every 15-mins to every 20-mins. On Sundays, a later evening service will operate to and from Birkenside to match the Monday to Saturday timetable. Minor changes to the Saturday timetable.

Service X31

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Revised timetable introduced with one additional journey introduced in both peaks in order to increase capacity after feedback from regular customers.

Service X33

Revised morning timetable with one additional journey introduced in order to increase capacity after feedback from regular customers.

Service 37/X37/47/X47

On Mondays to Fridays a revised early morning timetable is introduced to improve reliability. During the morning peak, one 37 journey is converted to operate as X37 to provide additional capacity after feedback from regular customers. Minor timetable changes on Saturdays & Sundays.

Service 39

WITHDRAWN and replaced by ECB 139 on same route and timetable.

Service 40

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WITHDRAWN and replaced by NEW ECB 140 on a revised route & timetable.

Service 42

Revised timetable to improve reliability. Service extended to and from Craigleith later into the evening on Mondays to Saturdays, however, late evening journeys between the City Centre and Portobello are withdrawn due to low levels of customer demand. Minor timetable changes on Sundays, but no change to the number of journeys operated.

Service 43/X43

Revised morning and afternoon peak timetable introduced on Mondays to Fridays with a slightly enhanced frequency in order to provide additional capacity after feedback from Queensferry Community Council and local councillors. ALL Monday to Saturday journeys on the 43 & X43 will now operate through Ferrymuir Retail Park. In the evenings, an additional journey from the City Centre at 20:45 will maintain the 30-min frequency for an extra hour. The X43 stopping pattern is slightly amended with buses now observing all stops between Barnton and Clermiston Road North in both directions. Minor changes to the Sunday timetable, but buses will not serve Ferrymuir.

Service 69

Revised route and minor changes to timetable. Buses will now revert back to the pre-April 2017 route direct via Portobello Road. Wakefield Avenue / Fillyside and Craigentinny Avenue will no longer be served due to very low levels of customer demand.

Service 300

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Minor timetable changes to slightly reduce morning peak frequency between Fountainbridge and Ingliston P&R. Earlier morning journey introduced from Ocean Terminal to Airport on Saturdays and Sundays. Buses will now serve RBS Gogarburn during Saturday and Sunday daytime.

Service N31

Revised timetable with a NEW Monday to Friday morning journey introduced from the City Centre to Bonnyrigg at 00:30. Saturday and Sunday morning journeys will now be operated by single deck vehicles to better reflect levels of customer demand.

Service N44

Revised route and timetable introduced. Buses will now operate between the City Centre and Balerno. The route to Musselburgh, Wallyford and Tranent will now be covered by new ECB Service N113.

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