Lothian Group discussion (Lothian City, Lothian Country Bus and East Coast Buses)

[stevenedin]

Does anyone know what the plan is once the new buses arrive at central? Which buses are due to be moved to other depots?

 

[90019]

Forgive me if this has been asked before, but does anybody know if Lothian will be running a shuttle to the "Scottish vintage bus museum" this year

I wouldn't completely rule it out, but it's unlikely.

 

[Graeme Duncan]

I reckon that 401-425 will return to Longstone and 381-9/91-400 to Marine and 925 + 926/7
and 305/7,310-329 to be withdrawn imminently.

 

[CN04NRJ]

I reckon that 401-425 will return to Longstone and 381-9/91-400 to Marine and 925 + 926/7
and 305/7,310-329 to be withdrawn imminently.

So Central lose 49 buses in return for 30 new ones, just around the time you might see a service increase?. Interesting theory.

 

[Graeme Duncan]

I was under the impression Central was going to receive 48 buses which would have covered any reallocations of vehicles to other depots.

 

[CN04NRJ]

I was under the impression Central was going to receive 48 buses which would have covered any reallocations of vehicles to other depots.

What are the extra 18 buses on order?

 

[Busman757]

How many does Marine currently have? I was led to believe it was 30 for each garage and 8 for ECB?

 

[CN04NRJ]

How many does Marine currently have? I was led to believe it was 30 for each garage and 8 for ECB?

They've got 631-650 so another 10 to go for them I assume.

 

[Graeme Duncan]

I was not aware that Marine were getting another 10 . I assumed that they were all heading for Central.
I take it Marine will be getting fleet numbers 651-660 and Central 661-690 finally ECB 691-698.
I take it East Coast Buses are not getting any new buses.

 

[Graham Alexand]

I was not aware that Marine were getting another 10 . I assumed that they were all heading for Central.
I take it Marine will be getting fleet numbers 651-660 and Central 661-690 finally ECB 691-698.
I take it East Coast Buses are not getting any new buses.

East Coast Buses will be getting 8 new buses.

You may mean Lothian Country which aren't getting any new buses currently.

 

[Graeme Duncan]

I realised I should have said LCB. I take it no further buses have arrived at Seafield.

 

[Graham Alexand]

I realised I should have said LCB. I take it no further buses have arrived at Seafield.

None yet, should be soon though.

Lothian Buses Airlink 100 is getting closer to its original frequency.

From Monday 19th August Airlink100 will increase its frequency from every 30 minutes to every 15 minutes.

Night Bus journeys for service 100 is still every 30 minutes.

Link to the article below.

Increased frequency for Airlink 100 service - Lothian Buses

Lothian’s Airlink 100 service will be revised from Sunday 15 August. The airport service will operate every 15 minutes between 0400 and 0030 hours, with an increased frequency to improve reliability for larger customer numbers. The link to the new timetable can be found below. Airlink Timetable...

www.lothianbuses.com

Increased frequency for Airlink 100 service.

Revised timetable to take effect from Sunday 15 August

August 13, 2021

Lothian’s Airlink 100 service will be revised from Sunday 15 August.

The airport service will operate every 15 minutes between 0400 and 0030 hours, with an increased frequency to improve reliability for larger customer numbers. The link to the new timetable can be found below.

Airlink Timetable from Sunday 15th August 2021

For more information on the Airlink 100 and other airport services, visit the Airport Buses page.

Link to timetable below.

https://www.lothianbuses.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Airlink-Timetable-from-Sunday-15th-August-2021.pdf

 

[ScotRail158725]

None yet, should be soon though.

Lothian Buses Airlink 100 is getting closer to its original frequency.

From Monday 19th August Airlink100 will increase its frequency from every 30 minutes to every 15 minutes.

Night Bus journeys for service 100 is still every 30 minutes.

Link to the article below.

Increased frequency for Airlink 100 service - Lothian Buses

Lothian’s Airlink 100 service will be revised from Sunday 15 August. The airport service will operate every 15 minutes between 0400 and 0030 hours, with an increased frequency to improve reliability for larger customer numbers. The link to the new timetable can be found below. Airlink Timetable...

www.lothianbuses.com

Link to timetable below.

https://www.lothianbuses.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Airlink-Timetable-from-Sunday-15th-August-2021.pdf

It's a pity the old half hourly night buses aren't back to that yet. Especially with the night-time industry open again. The earlier N3s have been very busy as of late.

 

[Graham Alexand]

its a pity the old half hourly night buses arent back to that yet. Especially with the nightime industry open again. The earlier N3s have been very busy as of late

Probably next year it will return to its pre-covid service at every 10 minutes during the day and a Night Bus 100 every 15 minutes.

 

[ScotRail158725]

Probably next year it will return to it's pre-covid service at every 10 minutes during the day and a Night Bus 100 every 15 minutes.

I’m not talking about just the 100s night service. I’m talking about all the Night Buses that used to be half hourly.

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

Probably next year it will return to its pre-covid service at every 10 minutes during the day and a Night Bus 100 every 15 minutes.

Pre-COVID the Airlink was (at its peak) every 9 mins, which never seemed to be an issue for the public as the 100 timetable wasn’t officially available to view, instead just saying ‘at frequent intervals’ on the timetable.

 

[Graham Alexand]

I’m not talking about just the 100s night service. I’m talking about all the Night Buses that used to be half hourly.

My apologies, well similarly with the N28 and N43 only doing the one journey in one direction.

Pre-COVID the Airlink was (at its peak) every 9 mins, which never seemed to be an issue for the public as the 100 timetable wasn’t officially available to view, instead just saying ‘at frequent intervals’ on the timetable.

I thought the information booklets had a timetable within them, did they not?

 

[CN04NRJ]

Pre-COVID the Airlink was (at its peak) every 9 mins, which never seemed to be an issue for the public as the 100 timetable wasn’t officially available to view, instead just saying ‘at frequent intervals’ on the timetable.

Before I moved here we used to fly to Edinbugh via Bristol and always used the 100 - was pretty much guaranteed there would be one at the stand and they never loitered for long.

 

[ScotRail158725]

Before I moved here we used to fly to Edinbugh via Bristol and always used the 100 - was pretty much guaranteed there would be one at the stand and they never loitered for long.

There used to always be 2 or 3 parked up on Waverley bridge at a time as well so there was always one guaranteed to depart quite quickly.

 

[Lothianbus703]

Has 312 been withdrawn from service as it hasn't been in service for a while, or does it just have a fault?

 

[Vectron383]

Having had a few chances to ride on the new 6xx Enviro 400s I have made a few observations which users may be interested in.
- The ADL seats are indeed more comfortable (At least for me) and offer equal back support. Larger grab handles are also a big plus.
- Legroom remains very good, with no visible change from older buses.
- Information display systems are legible from the back of the bus and the announcements are both easy to hear and loud enough to make out over loud noise.
- At the rear of the top deck there is what I can only assume to be a heating/air conditioning vent underneath the last row of seats. This was very noisy on all the journeys I conducted so far.
- The 2 buggy/wheelchair are in my opinion a good use of space with at least one being occupied on both of my trips.
- Saloon lighting has now reverted from individual spotlights back to strip lighting
- The buses all still have the at-seat power outlets in the same design as on previously delivered vehicles.
All in all I think this is a great addition to Lothian’s fleet and has significantly improved travel quality compared to the Gemini bodies it has replaced.

 

[AndrewTaylor95]

I noticed as well if you sit at the back you don't have access to any USB ports on the new ADL Volvo B5s.

 

[ScotRail158725]

I noticed as well if you sit at the back you don't have access to any USB ports on the new ADL Volvo B5s.

Yes, on the upper deck rear 5 seats there are no power chargers, which is quite annoying.

 

[Graham Alexand]

181 has been repaired, I've just seen a photograph of it .

 

[computerSaysNo]

The schools went back today did they not? I'm very surprised there hasn't been a service change prior to them going back, even if it was just something like restoring the 45 to the morning/evening journeys which were running earlier in the year.

Also just out of interest, if anyone knows: I know the 15 used to run prior to the pandemic, did it only change to the X15 during the pandemic/because of the pandemic? Or was this change planned to happen anyway?

 

[CN04NRJ]

The schools went back today did they not? I'm very surprised there hasn't been a service change prior to them going back, even if it was just something like restoring the 45 to the morning/evening journeys which were running earlier in the year.

Also just out of interest, if anyone knows: I know the 15 used to run prior to the pandemic, did it only change to the X15 during the pandemic/because of the pandemic? Or was this change planned to happen anyway?

The 45 started running Heriot-Watt to Bristo Place today though? 314 and 569 were on the two journeys this morning.

 

[Lothian_Bus]

I notice that the 31 has run with several XLB's this week - there are 10 on it today.

Service 27 not running with any this week.

 

[computerSaysNo]

The 45 started running Heriot-Watt to Bristo Place today though? 314 and 569 were on the two journeys this morning.

Ah, oops, I missed that
I checked the app before I posted and the bus stops served by only the 45 on Colinton Road still aren't showing up so I just assumed that the 45 was still not running.

 

[TheEastCoaster]

The schools went back today did they not? I'm very surprised there hasn't been a service change prior to them going back, even if it was just something like restoring the 45 to the morning/evening journeys which were running earlier in the year.

Also just out of interest, if anyone knows: I know the 15 used to run prior to the pandemic, did it only change to the X15 during the pandemic/because of the pandemic? Or was this change planned to happen anyway?

I’m confident there will be another service change before the month ends or at least early September.

The country is back to near-normal status and it would be a shame if the 45 was kept in it‘s current status permanently, but I’d be repeating myself again and again if I explained why I think so.

Back in the original March 2020 proposed changes the 15 was the X15 and was meant to be extended to Eastfield, which I’m guessing was meant to run alongside the 124 making the frequency between Lothian Road and Portobello every 15 minutes during the weekday while the weekend runs on the 124 was every 15 minutes between Edinburgh and Wallyford, I’m not sure if they will return to that original idea but only time will tell.

Anyway when the 15 was brought back last summer it only ran between Waterloo Place and Easter Bush, which has remained the route and timetable every since, and folk have complained that Lothian had not extended it back to Penicuik.

I’ll admit if Lothian doesn't properly reinstate the 45 and X5 and extend the 15 back to its former route then I have no clue what they are doing.

 

[buslad1988]

I’m confident there will be another service change before the month ends or at least early September.

The country is back to near-normal status and it would be a shame if the 45 was kept in it‘s current status permanently, but I’d be repeating myself again and again if I explained why I think so.

Back in the original March 2020 proposed changes the 15 was the X15 and was meant to be extended to Eastfield, which I’m guessing was meant to run alongside the 124 making the frequency between Lothian Road and Portobello every 15 minutes during the weekday while the weekend runs on the 124 was every 15 minutes between Edinburgh and Wallyford, I’m not sure if they will return to that original idea but only time will tell.

Anyway when the 15 was brought back last summer it only ran between Waterloo Place and Easter Bush, which has remained the route and timetable every since, and folk have complained that Lothian had not extended it back to Penicuik.

I’ll admit if Lothian doesn't properly reinstate the 45 and X5 and extend the 15 back to its former route then I have no clue what they are doing.

All this fully depends on if there are enough drivers available - and at the moment there isn’t. So Lothian will not rush into increasing services until there is sufficient cover to do so.