That makes its eventual consolidation into LB seem even more likely I would have thought.
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Lothian Group discussion (Lothian City, Lothian Country Bus and East Coast Buses)
- Thread starter GusB
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Oh 100% it's going nowhere whether Lothian like it or not. If it did, heck I'd start buying old deckers and a Stihl saw!
Scotrail314209
Established Member
(As I live on the Western end of the route)
It’s iconic but horrifically unreliable, especially in the afternoon due to its length.
I normally find myself waiting a while for a bus.
I also live on the Western End of the 26. I have usually not got to many issues with it, although I do notice bunched up buses every now and then due to the higher passenger numbers at such times. I've never found that I've had to wait too long for a 26 though, they still turn up often which is not of inconvenience at all. I do think a lot of the issue with delays is due to the high amount of passengers using it as I've said, all on the Eastern Side, most of which getting off around Princes Street. I do think a split service may be of benefit if it's done correctly, or even as mentioned previously dual door XLB's which will allow extra capacity with boarding and deboarding occuring at the same time. Would save so much time.
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Scotrail314209
Established Member
The current roadworks on Drum Brae South aren’t helping much with bunched up buses either. The 21 seems to have a similar problem with buses being bunched together.
FlybeDash8Q400
Established Member
The King of the bunched up buses though will always be the 30. How they frequently bunch up in 4’s and 5’s I’ll never know. Yesterday it was only 3 mind you.
You can be following a 30 ahead of you and still be just as busy. I remember running a couple of minutes behind one through Newington one night (after waiting a minute due to early running at the Commonwealth Pool timing point) and I was still picking up a standing load all the way through - the driver ahead later told me he was busy but hadn't failed to clear (refused people due to being full) so this wasn't passengers who couldn't get his bus!
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FlybeDash8Q400
Established Member
Yeah it’s always been one of many problems with the 30. Hopefully with the new slip road being built on the A1 at the QMU it will be changed to permanently bypass Newcraighall and thus become a double decker. Potential slight frequency reduction but not much.
Over the years it’s been a pretty much unfixable problem. Now they might finally be able to solve it. I’m assuming the 30 would run directly from Fort Kinnaird, along Newcraighall Road, briefly joining the A1 to the Queen Margaret University before resuming its current route at Whitehill Farm Road, as it has done when a diversion has been necessary.
The issue with this is that it obviously leaves Clayknowes Crescent and especially Newcraighall with a significantly weaker bus network, at a time where Newcraighall is significantly expanding. Now admittedly it does have a rail service, but what realistically could pick up the missing links? If the 140/141 were still single decks it’d probably be easier to extend them, but they’re not now.
Vectron383
Member
928 is looking like a bit of a contradiction these days- Lothian buses signage inside, LCB livery and placard stating that it’s on loan to ECB!
With a surplus of single deck buses they may run some via Newcraighall whilst deckers run the other half, or create a new route. Only question is driver resources.
FlybeDash8Q400
Established Member
Perhaps a gap filler such as a new 46 between Royal Infirmary and Musselburgh Grammar could solve the problem. Every 15 minutes with singles. Runs current 30 route between Musselburgh Grammar and Niddrie before going down Greendykes Road to the Royal Infirmary. Ideally this would be an ECB route but I highly doubt resources would allow it. Again extending the 48 would probably have been the best option but that now needs the double decks.
Or the suggestion as above but run it as an extension of the 38 maybe? That way it’s still Longstone operated. The 38 could do with returning to every 20 minutes and that’s probably about the right frequency. It stops not too late at night which probably wouldn’t be too much of an issue. The hourly Sunday service could be a sticking point though.
The 30 could do my previous suggestion, and would be every 15 minutes.
LothianBusesPh
Member
The 46 should do every 20 minutes.
Scotrail314209
Established Member
Does anyone know why the reliability on the 200 seems to have tanked recently? Waiting for a bus that is on its way, but about 15 minutes late, with the one behind it also being delayed by the same amount.
The outcome would still have been the same as First would have gone all out to defend its West Lothian network. SMT and its successors have always had a good track record out there in repelling invaders, by introducing initiatives such as Diamond Service (to see off LRT), coming to an arrangement with an erstwhile competitor (Davidson) or painting up a decoy bus to put the competition out of business (Harris).
Remember too that the LRT expansion into East Lothian and Midlothian was into areas fairly close to the city limits. With West Lothian, you were well beyond the city limits before you reached the next town.
LothianBusesPh
Member
What buses are outside Seafield right now?
Last time @FlybeDash8Q400 had a look it was 496, 20950, 583/8/90. This will at least be 496, 20950 and 583 now as 588/90 are away for paint. If there are more should be confirmed soon.
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LothianBusesPh
Member
I was wondering what buses would be next there so we get to know what is first back
.
FlybeDash8Q400
Established Member
Nothing more. Just 583, 950 and 496 left outside now.
581, 582, 584 and 585 are confirmed as having returned from repaint now. I’m assuming all of these are parked inside for now, and probably only 581 is completely finished.
TheEastCoaster
Established Member
- Joined
- 26 Jun 2018
- Messages
- 1,393
Either that or extend the 106 to Royal Infirmary and impliment later/ more frequent journeys (maybe 1 to Royal Infirmary an hour?) also if there was to be another bus link from the Fort to the Royal is there any need to have it via Greendykes Road? maybe a link via the Wisp would be nice to change things up’
stevenedin
Established Member
I think what will be missed will be the frequent route to the city centre from newcraighall. They could always run a 30A say once every 20-30 mins the same route as the current 30 but terminates at Semple Street and run the 30 as double deckers via the new road mentioned above and run to Clovenstone.
FlybeDash8Q400
Established Member
Extending the 106 would be better in one sense but it’s just too infrequent. That also doesn’t solve the issue with Clayknowes Crescent either.
The 2 was the other route I looked at. Would open up new connections to The Jewel.
Been that way for a few months now, would have thought it was fairly straightforward to replace the legals knowing they're going to be/have been there for a few months,
341/2/4/5 all had legals replaced yet spent less time with ECB that 928/9 & 935/6 have so far!
FlybeDash8Q400
Established Member
I wonder if they had hoped to get 591-594 going again and that 928/9 & 935/6 were only planned to be there for weeks rather than months.
LothianBusesPh
Member
I know the news is probably obvious but 496 has had luggage racks removed and has been replaced with other blue seats.
This is not of surprise I'd say. The likelyhood of it having the racks still in place with the amount of time it's spent at Seafield is low.
LothianBusesPh
Member
220 peaking through
220 was new to Lothian Buses in 1999 as 534 She is (Sort of) seen here at Marine.
www.flickr.com
If you care to know, 220 is still with us in case anyone was wondering.
ian1944
Member
Delayed reply, but I've just caught up with this thread. I think of the 22's original state as being how it was in the 50/60s, when it ran with PD2s between Blackhall and Sighthill via Leith and the city. According to the caption on a Flickr photo, 14 buses were used to operate a 10 minute interval service, shared between Leith and Longstone garages. As a child, I could go any distance on a single route for 2d (5/6 of 1p), so it was good value. Doubtless somebody will know which was ECT's longest route for that flat fare.
Baileygirl
Member
It could be the original 32 which was a circular route around the outskirts of Edinburgh until it was split into two. It was also renumbered as 32 for the inner circle and 52 for the outer circle. When split it came the 18 which is now the 200 (southern part) and the 21 (northern part).
For historians, the timetableworld.com site has Eastern Scottish timetables for 1969 and 1978 which have lists of Edinburgh ECT/LRT routes with first and last times but not frequencies. The outer circle came in after 1969 (there was no Wester Hailes then) so for the fifties and sixties the east-west 26 and 44 Eastfield-Clerwood/Juniper Green may have been longest linear route.