NEW buses!

Not sure whther this has been posted previously, but rumours on a bus & coach forum suggest Lothian buses are buying 60 brand new buses. The intention is to use these on the 31, 37 & 47 routes.

Quote :

....some of the 60 new buses WILL be for the 31 AND 37/47. The 31's new buses will feature new branding and the 37/47 may also have a new brand too.
They will have a brand spanking new interior based on the current AIRLINK. This means that the 10, 31, 37/47 will receive brand spanking new buses that will be great for all who travel on those routes and may even increase the currently high passenger ridership.

If the interiors are like those that the number 35 that I have been
on recently they are quite comfy but with high backs they are not
as open, which may not be a bad thing.

New buses would be nice though we might have to put up with higher fares if this thread on that forum comes true.

http://www.busandcoachforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=7317&sid=e4e10e1735ea61d958f3d2ff0912aa96

Seems like all the Penicuik 37 / 47 buses have now been painted in to the new Pen-Y-Cog livery and refurbished.

New vehicles are now in service....but not on our routes

http://www.lothianbuses.com/news/2-general-news/731-im-new-try-me-.html

One of the new Lothian Buses vehicles before delivery and going in to service in September

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jongraham890/6070297776/in/photostream

I wonder why they have handles on the front of the top deck - a new way to get more passengers on board perhaps???

Very smart indeed! Can't see them being used on the 37/47 services though.

On the same subject, it would appear that the old Eastern Scottish livery is making a comeback. First group have new management and livery's are to become area specific. 62 might get a "Lowland "Scottish" livery....I live in hope!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/km_edinburgh/5987473017/in/set-72157627306531756/

See they are holding a bus surgery in Dalkeith on the 15th September - details here:

http://www.lothianbuses.com/news/2-general-news/798-have-your-say.html

Wonder why they never have one in Penicuik? Perhaps too scared about the grief they would get about lack of express services, bunched up buses, limited service to Straiton Park and Ride etc etc

Maybe one day there will be a surgery in Penicuik, remember that there is more to life outside Penicuik and other places do exist... Out of interest what would you suggest to resolve the bus issues;
I'll grant you the lack of an express bus like the old X71 / X77 & X78 is something, on the other hand the X47 limited stop does have a heck of a lot more journeys on it and there are more buses overall running at the peak times. Given that there are at least 8 buses an hour into Edinburgh, 5 on Sundays it could be said that Penicuik has an excellent bus service..

I would agree that Penicuik "theoretically" has a very good bus service with 8 buses and hour but in practice it is very different since the 37s and 47s leave and arrive here at the same time. It is very common to see 2 x 37s, 47 and both the 15 and 15A coming in to the town together which can mean a long wait until the next service arrives.
Another problem which affects services to most places is the time it takes to travel via Princes Street as buses queue up behind each other at stops then as soon as they move off the traffic lights turn to red. It often takes 20 minutes to cover that part of the journey! (Yes, I know it will all be better when the trams are finished!)
Perhaps a fundamental rethink of routes is required and I imagine there will be changes to the 47 to cater for additional traffic to Asda when it opens.

Midlothian continue to support local bus services;

http://www.midlothian.gov.uk/press/article/231/support_for_local_bus_services

Must congratulate Firstbus on a new idea today, for whatever reason they sent out a bus on the 141 that didn't have a cash box on it - The driver could not accept fares and so the only folk to get tickets were the concession holders. Makes you wonder...

And even more new buses for Lothian, this time Hybrids!! Not sure about the look/colour scheme of them but don't suppose it matters as we'll not see them in Penicuik!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_montgomery/6129488653/

Seen a couple of these new buses yesterday, look very smart, they certainly stand out as being different to the usual offerings in Edinburgh..

I see there is a benefit to Penicuik of these new vehicles since the previous buses from that route have been "cascaded" on to the 15 / 15A service so we now get nice shiny 08 vehicles instead of the old 04 things that have been breaking down a lot recently.
Of course, even a Y-reg bus is brand new if you are F**** Bus!

I hear that tonight some fine specimens of local yobs decided to use a Lothian Buses bus for target practice outside the Roadhouse in Penicuik, apparently managed to smash one of the windows... Throwing stones at buses, shame they didn't bounce off and hit the twits that threw them....

Strange how there has been no mention on Lothian Buses website about them running a doubled-up service 37 at the moment. I do wonder about the economics of this though as they seem to be fairly quiet and have long gaps between them???

They're probably getting lost trying to negotiate their way through the new tram works diversions Last night I just missed an X47 and the next bus to come was a 37 closely followed by a 47.

Hmm....this does not look anything like the First Bus who operate around here!
http://vimeo.com/29141668
The making of the advert http://vimeo.com/29142419
Very cheesy if you ask me and liable to get in trouble with the ASA

SamTyler wrote:

Hmm....this does not look anything like the First Bus who operate around here!
http://vimeo.com/29141668
The making of the advert http://vimeo.com/29142419
Very cheesy if you ask me and liable to get in trouble with the ASA

Thanks for posting this - best laugh I've had in ages!

Brilliant.. I was expecting to see small print appear though that said 'does not apply to passengers in the East of Scotland'..

The other new thing I have noticed happening on buses is the "one person per seat" rule which seems pretty common now - how come no one told me about it?

they wuldnae daur when yeve got six big lads on yer knee

After a trip in to Edinburgh yesterday morning, I now see why the buses are always running late and bunched up here in Penicuik. The road works in Newington are to blame with three sets in the one area plus all the pedestrian crossings still active in the middle of them holding things up even more. Why can they not clear the parked cars to make it easier for traffic to flow (or is that a daft idea?)

Come on, Sam; you know better than that.
Of course it's not a daft idea. If it was they'd have done it already!