Independent Operators in the Lothians

[scosutsut]

Didn't want to clog up the Lothian / ECB thread (although they may warrant separating, in which case perhaps this thread could be East Lothian Operators?) For now this is to cover the East Lothian Independent operators e.g. NOT East Coast Buses nor Borders Buses etc.

I note from a Flickr browse this morning that Prentice must be happy with their Mellor Strata, as they've added another, its first day out on its 70 plate:

LN70 PPU - Prentice of Haddington 3

01.09.20 - First day for this new addition to the Prentice fleet. This is a Mercedes Benz 516CDi with Mellor Strata Plus bodywork. LN70 PPU is pictured here in Gullane as it heads to Haddington on the service 122.

www.flickr.com

[Not my photo, credit on link, kudos to photographer]

Must give praise to Prentice, I've not used them yet but seem a smart little operation with a modern fleet of Mercs and E200s.

 

[CN04NRJ]

Didn't want to clog up the Lothian / ECB thread (although they may warrant separating, in which case perhaps this thread could be East Lothian Operators?) For now this is to cover the East Lothian Independent operators e.g. NOT East Coast Buses nor Borders Buses etc.

I note from a Flickr browse this morning that Prentice must be happy with their Mellor Strata, as they've added another, its first day out on its 70 plate:

LN70 PPU - Prentice of Haddington 3

01.09.20 - First day for this new addition to the Prentice fleet. This is a Mercedes Benz 516CDi with Mellor Strata Plus bodywork. LN70 PPU is pictured here in Gullane as it heads to Haddington on the service 122.

www.flickr.com

[Not my photo, credit on link, kudos to photographer]

Must give praise to Prentice, I've not used them yet but seem a smart little operation with a modern fleet of Mercs and E200s.

Very smart fleet, I do feel sorry for the drivers of their E200s with that awful ZF gearbox they have though.

 

[scotrail158713]

Must give praise to Prentice, I've not used them yet but seem a smart little operation with a modern fleet of Mercs and E200s.

Agreed. I really like them as an operator, and try to use them whenever I can.

 

[Avenger20]

I live in Wallyford and have recently cancelled my Ridacard. If going down to Musselburgh or Tranent, I'll actively try to take the Prentice 108 service. Not only is it helping a local, independent business but the fares are also cheaper at only £1.60/single in the urban zone.

Agreed however that the gearboxes on the E200s are rotten.

 

[scotrail158713]

I live in Wallyford and have recently cancelled my Ridacard. If going down to Musselburgh or Tranent, I'll actively try to take the Prentice 108 service. Not only is it helping a local, independent business but the fares are also cheaper at only £1.60/single in the urban zone.

Agreed however that the gearboxes on the E200s are rotten.

I’m similar as well. I’ve got a lot of respect for Prentice and avoid ECB’s 106 when possible. They took on the 108 in 2016 when it was going to be withdrawn. ECB had no interest in it at the time and only started the 106 a year or so later when they saw the success of the 108.
Another East Lothian independent who I reckon are decent are Eve Coaches. I’ve never used their service buses yet, but I’ve used them on private hire trips and they’re always reliable.

 

[GusB]

As part of the process to tidy up the various Lothian threads, I've re-named this one "Independent Operators in the Lothians".

 

[Swanny200]

I’m similar as well. I’ve got a lot of respect for Prentice and avoid ECB’s 106 when possible. They took on the 108 in 2016 when it was going to be withdrawn. ECB had no interest in it at the time and only started the 106 a year or so later when they saw the success of the 108.
Another East Lothian independent who I reckon are decent are Eve Coaches. I’ve never used their service buses yet, but I’ve used them on private hire trips and they’re always reliable.

EVE's stock always seemed well presented whenever I saw them out and about until I moved down south, East Lothian's smaller operators seemed at the time to take more care of their stock unlike some in West Lothian.

 

[TheEastCoaster]

Off topic and because I have no idea where else to ask.

how much is a fare on E&M Horsburghs 40/X40? I was hoping to do a trip on this route sometime in the next week to Livi and was curious how much a single/and or return costs

 

[awsnews]

Prentice of Haddington are another operator now available on the Mytrip app for live tracking and online tickets

 

[Avenger20]

Prentice making some minor changes from 17th, service 118 will run from Seton Sands to Fort Kinnaird with a few extensions to ERI. They cite ever increasing congestion as the reason for cutting a number of day time journeys at Fort Kinnaird.

 

[TheEastCoaster]

Prentice making some minor changes from 17th, service 118 will run from Seton Sands to Fort Kinnaird with a few extensions to ERI. They cite ever increasing congestion as the reason for cutting a number of day time journeys at Fort Kinnaird.

Im guessing the problem is due to the Wisp? such a shame as it’s the only bus that goes up there direct from the Fort

has anyone on here ever been on the 40/X40 by Horsburgh! I’m curious to hear other people’s opinions on it

 

[Siemens Trains]

has anyone on here ever been on the 40/X40 by Horsburgh! I’m curious to hear other people’s opinions on it

Someone posted a brief review in the Lothian Country thread recently (because there was a rumour of West Lothian Council tender reviews and some folk speculated on the prospect of Lothian Country making a bid).
From what I recall they said the route had novelty value but their journey was made mserable by the condition of the vehicle itself and the familiar "secret fare - exact change only" policy that many operators adopt. Think it was £2.50 on the day they travelled.

 

[Avenger20]

It's a shame, it surely has such potential if an operator had the bottle to do something with it.

Often while driving around the bypass you see all manner of buses operating that service so it would be nice to have modern, comfortable, clean and well equipped vehicles running the service.

 

[TheEastCoaster]

I was just on the Edinburgh Coach Line website and noticed on the Service 13 section they have a photo of the bus but at Eastfield Terminus Which I found funny because the 13 dosnt come anywhere near Portobello

speaking of which what are you thoughts on this service? I know it’s a council tender but is it handy? profitable? It also serves some pretty out of the place links like The Dean Modern Art Gallery and the Hibs Football Stadium

 

[route101]

I was just on the Edinburgh Coach Line website and noticed on the Service 13 section they have a photo of the bus but at Eastfield Terminus Which I found funny because the 13 dosnt come anywhere near Portobello

speaking of which what are you thoughts on this service? I know it’s a council tender but is it handy? profitable? It also serves some pretty out of the place links like The Dean Modern Art Gallery and the Hibs Football Stadium

The 13 used to be a Lothian service, i wonder if Lothian could run again?

There's a few routes out of Livingston up to Linlithgow and Boness i fancy checking out, only problem is ticketing as non LC routes.

I’m similar as well. I’ve got a lot of respect for Prentice and avoid ECB’s 106 when possible. They took on the 108 in 2016 when it was going to be withdrawn. ECB had no interest in it at the time and only started the 106 a year or so later when they saw the success of the 108.
Another East Lothian independent who I reckon are decent are Eve Coaches. I’ve never used their service buses yet, but I’ve used them on private hire trips and they’re always reliable.

Only used Eve once , from North Berwick to Dunbar, was solo, though it had them plastic headrests that curve towards you. I'm surprised ECB haven't tried that route.

 

[TheEastCoaster]

The 13 used to be a Lothian service, i wonder if Lothian could run again?

There's a few routes out of Livingston up to Linlithgow and Boness i fancy checking out, only problem is ticketing as non LC routes.



Only used Eve once , from North Berwick to Dunbar, was solo, though it had them plastic headrests that curve towards you. I'm surprised ECB haven't tried that route.

I hoped that as it was a service I’ve always wanted to try, maybe one day Lothian will bid for it!

120? I’ve used that one once also, it’s a great service and I enjoyed the route from NB to East Linton, it truely is a great region! the 129 was a service I was also interested in, mainly it being the only link from Portobello to Ocean Terminal and the only bus to run through Fillyside for many years, I was sad when it was taken off.

I could see the 120 work as an ECB route if Eve decide to no longer run it, would be handy for their network especully for ticketing, and if the 129 comes back is doubtful, I recall saying on the Lothian forum a couple years ago that the 140 should be extended there following the old 129 route, as It not only links Ocean Terminal with Seafield and Portobello But also Musselburgh, Dalkeith and Penicuik

 

[90019]

I see that Edinburgh Coach Lines have got an Evora (SN19FJA) they've been using on the 13.

Presumably it's a demonstrator rather than a new addition to the fleet?

 

[OmniCity999]

I see that Edinburgh Coach Lines have got an Evora (SN19FJA) they've been using on the 13.

Presumably it's a demonstrator rather than a new addition to the fleet?

Believe ECL are going through a fleet modernisation program, the eVoRa was bought by their parent company and is running on the 13, an old shape solo on loan from Bryans Coaches is also running on the 13.

new buses incoming!

 

[Blindtraveler]

should think it's probably very hard to justify any fleet investment for the service 13 but it's certainly needed

 

[Siemens Trains]

should think it's probably very hard to justify any fleet investment for the service 13 but it's certainly needed

There may be some incentive with the 13 being a route that the council subsidise. I think Edinburgh takes emissions and no-shows from breakdowns quite seriously.
However as you mention, patronage seems very light with little opportunity for growth so fleet investment isn't likely to be rewarded by revenue from passengers.

 

[Jordan Adam]

From my understanding the eVoRa has actually been bought rather than a lease.

 

[cnjb8]

I see that Edinburgh Coach Lines have got an Evora (SN19FJA) they've been using on the 13.

Presumably it's a demonstrator rather than a new addition to the fleet?

Former Crown Plaza Hotel owned in Dublin

 

[TheEastCoaster]

i was thinking, if the 13 got extended from Lochend to Seafield? missing out Findlay Gardens but running down to Lochend Roundabout then Sleigh Drive to Craigentinny Crossroads, then down Fillyside Road to Seafield Terminus, which is still walking distance from Findlay Gardens anyway, but in the process also serving a missing link and give Lochend and Craigentinny residents a direct link to Seafield? Would it work? I get it’s a council tender route but if ECL substitided the extension would it pay off?

 

[Blindtraveler]

I've always wondered why they don't extend it to the Western general and terminate it in the hospital grounds actually

 

[TheEastCoaster]

I've always wondered why they don't extend it to the Western general and terminate it in the hospital grounds actually

How about both? Western General to the old Eastern General (Seafield)

 

[Siemens Trains]

How about both? Western General to the old Eastern General (Seafield)

I get it’s a council tender route but if ECL substitided the extension would it pay off?

I hate to be negative but the service presently has only about 5 minutes of layover at each end of the route. An extension would call for another vehicle and need to fit in with the existing hourly frequency. Given that ECL don't run any other routes nearby this could get rather awkward and expensive.
On top of that, and please correct me if I'm wrong, no operator runs any commercial passenger services entirely within Edinburgh apart from Lothian Buses/Country. I could be wrong but offhand can't think of any. However it seems quite a tall order.

 

[Avenger20]

Once we're allowed to mingle in Edinburgh/West Lothian again, I quite fancy a shot on the SD Travel service 16 from Livingston to WGH. Sadly, they don't seem to have a website with any travel info.

Does anyone know how much the fare is and whether they accept contactless or not?

I quite enjoy a little run on the small independents but their lack of websites and clear info is sometimes off putting.

 

[Swanny200]

Once we're allowed to mingle in Edinburgh/West Lothian again, I quite fancy a shot on the SD Travel service 16 from Livingston to WGH. Sadly, they don't seem to have a website with any travel info.

Does anyone know how much the fare is and whether they accept contactless or not?

I quite enjoy a little run on the small independents but their lack of websites and clear info is sometimes off putting.

I know they have a facebook page and are pretty quick to respond

 

[Avenger20]

Two new buses enter service tomorrow with Prentice on service 108. Attached is a (poor, squished!) photo of them along with some interior shots from Prentice's Facebook page.

 

[Bus9120UK]

Two new buses enter service tomorrow with Prentice on service 108. Attached is a (poor, squished!) photo of them along with some interior shots from Prentice's Facebook page.

They look smart however I am not a fan of the front logo