West Lothian Bus Alliance awarded £225,750 for Improvements

[TheEastCoaster]

I saw this on the Lothian Country Facebook page with the link to the original article in the quotes!

Now I’m not one to jump to conclusions… but from what I’ve taken from this, it seems to me that West Lothian Council may be giving Lothian Country more support to expand their routes. could this mean more original routes around the network or some tender bids possibly? (231, 40/X40?)

Nigel Serafini, Interim Managing Director for Lothian said: "We are delighted to be partnering West Lothian Council in the successful bid for funding through Transport Scotland's Bus Partnership Fund.

"As we look to encourage the use of public transport as part of Scottish Government's wider environmental agenda, we hope these infrastructure improvements and bus priority measures will further enhance the capability of our Lothian Country operation in the provision of a consistently reliable standard of service for our customers."

£225,750 to improve public transport in West Lothian - West Lothian News

The West Lothian Bus Alliance has been awarded £225,750 by Transport Scotland to improve bus travel in West Lothian.

news.westlothian.gov.uk

 

[Stan Drews]

Sorry to put the current topic on a complete hault but this felt important to share!

Saw this on the Lothian Country Facebook page with the link to the original article in the quotes!

Now I’m not one to jump to conclusions… but from what I’ve taken from this, it seems to me that West Lothian Council may be giving Lothian Country more support to expand their routes. could this mean more original routes around the network or some tender bids possibly? (231, 40/X40?)

The news story lists another 6 bus operators that are part of the new Alliance, so I doubt any single operator will be favoured.

 

[Trnsprt4Sctlnd]

Sorry to put the current topic on a complete hault but this felt important to share!

Saw this on the Lothian Country Facebook page with the link to the original article in the quotes!

Now I’m not one to jump to conclusions… but from what I’ve taken from this, it seems to me that West Lothian Council may be giving Lothian Country more support to expand their routes. could this mean more original routes around the network or some tender bids possibly? (231, 40/X40?)

I’m guessing if it was to be favoured funding the competitions authority wouldn’t be happy.

 

[mb88]

I think it’s more likely to be ‘spent’ on infrastructure and bus priority measures rather than funding for new services. I say ‘spent’ because if the way West Lothian Council spent the money they got for the spaces for people program is anything to go by ‘spaffed up the wall’ would be a more appropriate phrase. I’m thinking of ludicrous schemes such as putting bollards to expand the pavement in Kirknewton, which in turn reduced the road to one lane on a blind bend and was subsequently ripped up after less than a week, or the cycle path up Tippethill which I’ve yet to see a single person use. However I digress. They could start by looking at parking enforcement as there are a large number of bus stops in the county permanently blocked by parked cars making it difficult if not impossible for elderly or disabled people to board and alight. Some of the bus stop layouts need looking at as well as many are not fit for purpose, with the positioning of the shelter and other street furniture again making it impossible to pull in close to the kerb. I will certainly keep a close eye on this and it will be interesting to see how the money is spent, as the article is very vague.

 

[Jordan Adam]

It looks like this money is just going towards building a business case for certain infrastructure and road improvements in those 15 "intervention areas" and won't actually go directly towards any infrastructure improvements. Most local authorities do this sort of thing every few years and while it can lead to good ideas it often doesn't lead to anything...

 

[M803UYA]

I saw this on the Lothian Country Facebook page with the link to the original article in the quotes!

Now I’m not one to jump to conclusions… but from what I’ve taken from this, it seems to me that West Lothian Council may be giving Lothian Country more support to expand their routes. could this mean more original routes around the network or some tender bids possibly? (231, 40/X40?)

The figure quoted is less than the cost of one brand new double deck bus (c£250,000), and it would cover the annual operating costs of 1/2 vehicles at most, so the money is more likely to be bus stop/infrastructure improvements rather than enhancement of services.

 

[overthewater]

Where could they spend it? Edinburgh Road in Bathgate and West Main Street in Broxburn are both bad for Congestion. While the McDonald's at O Centre does cause alot of tail backs at the Roundabout going into the bus stances. Having better bus routes would also help solve some of the issues.