Bus News

Lothian Christmas & New Year Info http://www.lothianbuses.com/our-community/article/christmas-new-year-buses
Firstbus Info http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/new_service_updates/attach_1355500548_15171_Edinburgh%2C%20The%20Lothians%20and%20Borders%20Festive%20Timetable%202012%202013.pdf

Basically there are no buses into Midlothian on Christmas day, special timetables on Boxing day and on New Years day whilst Lothian will not be operating to Midlothian First will be offering a limited service on the 62 & X95...

Still find it odd that you can get a bus from Edinburgh to Dunbar or Livingston but not Penicuik, hey ho though each local authority to its own...

More good news for bus users as fares look to be going up again from April!!!

http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/transport/bus-fare-to-rise-again-to-1-50-1-2726385

Another batch of changes to Lothian Buses services due on 24th March (so plenty of work for the printers and the guys who change the timetable sheets at the bus stops!)
Looks like it will just be the usual adjustments to timetables as they battle to try and get things running better against the efforts of the councils and utility companies who like to dig up every road possible

http://www.busandcoachforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=11222&sid=7cb5a055e412aeb27f6d8b484f4e9e33&start=420
and if you are fed up with paying the fares or waiting around then how about this for an idea - buy your own bus from Lothian's old fleet
http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/transport/buy-an-old-lothian-bus-for-12k-1-2768612

New timetables can now be found on the Traveline Scotland site and there is good news for a change as the 37 and 47 both go back to every 15 minutes!

You can download the timetables here:
http://www.travelinescotland.com/cms/content/pdfFragments/ServiceList_LOB.xhtml

The first few pages are the current ones but if you look at later pages which are valid from 24th march you will see the much improved service. Hopefully this will mean an end to the long gaps between buses which can happen at the moment.

Details on the changes to Lothian Buses services are now on their site here:

http://lothianbuses.com/our-community/article/service-changes-from-sunday-24-march-2013

It should make things better during the week but no doubt there will be more roadworks in Edinburgh, Loanhead, Penicuik and the A701 to slow them down!

Good to see that there will be more 47s. However, it is still annoying that I have to travel up to Nicolson street to catch one.

And bus fares go up again...no suprise as fuel costs keep rising and the bus operators get less money from the Government to cover bus pass users

http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/transport/lothian-buses-to-raise-fares-again-1-2831733

It was nice to see that the buses are back to normal service now with 2 47s and a 37 following eah other in to Penicuik yesterday afternoon. I think the only solution is to cut down on stops in Edinburgh since so many people seem to use the 37 or 47 instead of other city based services. Maybe one day they will get it to work?

Changes to First bus services from 29th April, looks like the 62 is to become a more 'limited stop' service between Straiton and the City Centre.

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/new_service_updates/attach_1366315376_17201_Borders%20Area%20%2029%20April%202013.pdf

musicman wrote:

Changes to First bus services from 29th April, looks like the 62 is to become a more 'limited stop' service between Straiton and the City Centre.

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/new_service_updates/attach_1366315376_17201_Borders%20Area%20%2029%20April%202013.pdf

Anyone travelling on the 62 will wonder what is wrong when they can get from Penicuik to Edinburgh in approx 35 minutes instead of the 50 to 70 mins it takes by Lothian Bus! At least the 47 saves a lot of time since you don't have to crawl along Princes Street and is great when you want to get to the West End.

This will cause lots of problems in Penicuik for the next few weeks as the 37 gets diverted due to the resurfacing work on Rullion Road!

http://www.lothianbuses.com/plan-a-journey/service-update/penicuik-deanburn-from-wednesday-12-june

UPDATE:
It was certainly a "Magical Mystery Tour" taking the bus up to Cornbank tonight, especially when you go back along John Street before turning up Cuiken Terrace which takes ages due to the speed bumps and parked vehicles! Pity they don't mention anything on the buses so that people know that a Penicuik Deanburn bus does not actually go there now!

From 1st July the N37 will no longer serve Ladywood and will instead follow the daytime 37 route to Deanburn then return to Edinburgh via Queensway (not the town centre as current)

http://lothianbuses.com/our-community/article/changes-to-night-buses-from-a.m.-1-july-2013

The answer for folk in Deanburn who normally get the bus, take a taxi instead;

http://www.midlothian.gov.uk/news/article/961/new_free_taxi_service_running_tofrom_deanburn

I see that the buses are running their unpublished "Festival Timetable" at the moment with the delays in the city centre causing huge gaps between services out here in Penicuik. The other day I spotted that the next 37 was due in 30 minutes with the constant roadworks in Loanhead only making things worse. If they don't stop digging up the roads there, it might be worth Lothian Buses skipping the town altogether since it can take 20 minutes to get from one end to the other!

More changes from 8th September;

http://lothianbuses.com/our-community/article/service-changes-from-sunday-8-september

I see that the 100 / 101 / 102 timetable has now completely changed with the 100 no longer appearing - instead some of the 101's will now follow the direct route omitting Penicuik. The buses I've seen today are route branded and carry a picture of Edinburgh Castle on the front! The service is now also limited stop between the City bypass and the bus station, which surely makes sense due to the volume of Lothian buses that follow that section of route.
Not necassarily good to see McEwans being given the chop but at least the folks using the bus are getting more modern low floow vehicles, something that McEwans didn't get.

After the long delays to the 37 service on Saturday caused by the traffic at Straiton Retail Park and the roadworks at the roundabout, I think Lothian Buses need to rethink the service. Loanhead has so many delays to the buses due to roadworks and bad parking in the town centre so they could put on a circle bus travelling round the town via the park and ride so people could swap on to 37s and 47s there while not holding up the long distance routes. At the very least, the 37 needs to miss out the retail park until they sort out the roads and the junction on to the A701.
 

I had the misfortune to get stuck, an unbelievable 15 minutes to get through the retail park so made sure that I got the 47 back again...

The building work at Straiton Park along with it getting busier as C******** approaches mean that this is only going to get worse so hopefully Lothian Buses will do something very soon though that whole area is clogging up now with the work at the Kilns development narrowing the dual carriageway down - it looks like a conspiracy to delay the buses!

2 week diversion coming up for the 37 at Straiton http://www.lothianbuses.com/plan-a-journey/service-update/straiton-retail-park-from-monday-21-october

It is only going to get worse round Straiton as the shops get busier so we might see a complete diversion (ie: skipping Loanhead all together)

I see there are signs up warning of roadworks on Burdiehouse Road from Monday 28th Oct to 20th Dec!!

musicman wrote:

I see there are signs up warning of roadworks on Burdiehouse Road from Monday 28th Oct to 20th Dec!!

What joy! At this rate it will be quicker to walk in to Edinburgh than take the bus or car......or maybe that was the plan all along. The A701 is bad enough at the moment but think what it will be like once the hundreds of houses and shops on the "A701 Corridor" get built!
 

Not sure if it is true but I heard that the 37 is going to be renumbered soon to the S37, presumably for SLOW as opposed to X for express (though that is not really true as it is much slower than the old X81 service back in the 20th Century)
 

Christmas & New Year bus info for Lothian now available : http://lothianbuses.com/our-community/article/christmas-new-year-buses-2013-14

Including for the first time buses to Loanhead, Dalkeith, Gorebridge and Penicuik on New Years Day