I imagine that the Park and Ride is going to cause a few problems, especially with the delay it causes to buses heading for Penicuik. It must add several minutes to the journey as you wait to turn right in to it then wait again to get out again - especially if there is no one getting on or off there!
Many commuters might see it as the last straw with all the delays in the city.

Judging by the number of cars sitting in the retail park next to Boots etc, makes me wonder if folk that used to park there still are and not using the P & R. So far, so good though I'd say although it seems overkill to have buses stopping at Straiton Cottages then going round into the P & R before then stopping again just before the roundabout 3 bus stops in such a short stretch.... Reckon there was about 30 cars this morning just after 8am and at least 1 person got on (may have been more but I was upstairs!)
I agree though about the heading out of City, trouble is though unless the bus is empty how does a driver know that no passengers are going to want off at the P & R ?

That will explain why my bus is all to pot in the morning.

Straiton is quickly becomeing a place to avoid because of the traffic. Something wrong somewere

I had my first experience of the Park and Ride on the X47 today. Why they need THREE bus stops in that one bit is anybodys guess! Surely they could abolish the ones across from Argos / Boots / M&S since the Sainsburys one is only a little bit further along.
I also think that that section of road must have made the traffic light companies a fortune

Got to the stage of not really bothering about the bus going into the P & R now, but it strikes me as being daft in the morning,, I normally get the 0750 X47 (from Penicuik Centre) which is generally a very well loaded bus, indeed each morning this week it has been standing room only from about Glencorse, anyway it's been getting into the P & R about 0810 and about a dozen folks get on - squeezing on into the remaining space - the best bit though is there is at this time a completely empty X47 sitting waiting to set off at 0816. I can't help but think that the passengers would be as well just waiting that extra few minutes and actually getting a comfortable journey into the City!

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Site-turns-into-parkandhide-as.4616098.jp


Oh dear - problems already!!

Ah! I wondered why it had all been coned off already! last night my bus drove all the way round the outskirts of the park and ride and didn't even go to the bus stop, one poor guy got dropped off practically at the entrance and had to walk back to his car in the pouring rain.

Thought more people would have been using it by now though - not really seen it that busy yet.

Since its the school holidays that would maybe explain why things are quieter. It's great though, they build it in the middle of a field exposed to everything, have the experience of Ingliston yet they still manage to build it and encounter problems at the first gust of wind....

I see that Lothian Buses is considering more cuts to the bus services and the number 15 is mentioned http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Bus-bosses-slam-brakes-on.4703514.jp

I would not be surprised to see cuts to all the Penicuik buses as many seem to be fairly quiet now, outside the peak times. If they could get them running more regularly it would make things better instead of no buses for 20+ minutes then 15, 37, 47 and X47 all coming along at once as often happens now.
I hope that the fares don't go up along with cutbacks, especially with the lower cost of fuel now - this would only encourage people back in to their cars!

A change or 2 for the new year:

http://www.midlothian.gov.uk/Article.aspx?TopicId=0&ArticleId=19119

I was pleasantly surprised to see no major changes to the 15, 37, 47 and X47 services as I had expected some cutbacks. They obviously make enough money running in the city to cover the cost of being quiet out here during the off-peak times.
No suprise though to see a very limited bus service for Midlothian over Christmas and New Year while the politicians keep telling us "use public transport!"

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Passengers-face-hike-in-fares.4760784.jp

More bad news for bus users as it looks like single fares will rise to £1.30 with Daytickets climbing to £3. As the cost of fuel falls, Lothian Buses increase their fares so obviously all the shops like Aldi, Lidl, Debenhams, Tesco etc have got it wrong. They should be putting their prices UP to encourage more business:evil: instead of all these reductions and sales!

So the council spend god knows how much on Park and Rides all over the city, Dig up the roads and cause chaos by putting bus lanes everywere. Introduce trams no one wants and causeing even more chaos and upset. All to encourage us not to use our cars so much. Ok then why are not dropping the prices of the bus fares instead of increasing them. O yes its to pay for all these things. I dont care if they are still the cheapest bus fares in the country, That doesnt make me feel any better when i hand over my money every morning. Are they going to make sure the actuall bus turns up on time and doesnt use the excuse of the various road works or snow for being late. I dont actually need to get the bus in the morning I could walk and I think if the prices go up I will be. and Im sure there are a few more that will feel the same way.

Well, here's the confirmation about the fares rises.
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Bus-passengers-facing-second-ticket.4788046.jp
It will be £1.20 for a single and £3 for a day ticket. Also an annual ticket is to rise by £100 Luckily for me I've just renewed mine but I'll have to face it eventually. If the reason for the rise is due to the fall in revenue, I'm not sure whether this rise will help to encourage more people to use public transport especially in these difficult times.