West Lothian buses

[CN04NRJ]

The First X38 is increasing from Monday, i had a look on the app around 10am and there was one Edinburgh bound full before it got to Linlithgow. As i'm sure you're aware part of the issue with the X38 is that deckers are not suitable. I can't see the LCB X38 being reinstated at the moment as it's in no way an essential service and the Gov are more likely to put funding towards the First route.

It would certainly go some way towards not leaving (potentially vulnerable) people stranded, even if it's not your personal choice of operator.

I'm sure if it was LCB running their X38 and First's being temporarily withdrawn it would suddenly become an essential service in your eyes and whatever hypothetical LCB service level would be outrageous.

 

[overthewater]

It would certainly go some way towards not leaving (potentially vulnerable) people stranded, even if it's not your personal choice of operator.

I'm sure if it was LCB running their X38 and First's being temporarily withdrawn it would suddenly become an essential service in your eyes and whatever hypothetical LCB service level would be outrageous.

What are you on about?

 

[RomeoCharlie71]

I can't see the LCB X38 being reinstated at the moment as it's in no way an essential service and the Gov are more likely to put funding towards the First route.

The Government won't put funding "towards" any particular route - it is being distributed to bus operators who apply for it. I'm not entirely sure why the First X38 would be deemed "essential" and LCB's wouldn't.

I'm sure if the commercial directors of LCB notice that there are passengers being left behind on First's X38 then they won't be long in reinstating their own service to pick them up!

 

[Jordan Adam]

It would certainly go some way towards not leaving (potentially vulnerable) people stranded, even if it's not your personal choice of operator.

I'm sure if it was LCB running their X38 and First's being temporarily withdrawn it would suddenly become an essential service in your eyes and whatever hypothetical LCB service level would be outrageous.

What are you talking about? Where did i say it was my personal choice of operator...

The second part of your comment is equally as ridiculous. The First X38 is more essential than the LCB service as it covers more area, the LCB service is essentially just a short working version of the First route. If the LCB service went to Stirling and the First service only operated Edinburgh - Linlithgow then the LCB X38 would be the priority, however that isn't the case and the LCB X38 at this stage is less essential than the First X38.

 

[CN04NRJ]

What are you on about?

What are you talking about? Where did i say it was my personal choice of operator...

The second part of your comment is equally as ridiculous. The First X38 is more essential than the LCB service as it covers more area, the LCB service is essentially just a short working version of the First route. If the LCB service went to Stirling and the First service only operated Edinburgh - Linlithgow then the LCB X38 would be the priority, however that isn't the case and the LCB X38 at this stage is less essential than the First X38.

I was referring to your continued and baffling bias to certain operators throughout various threads.

 

[Jordan Adam]

I was referring to your continued and baffling bias to certain operators throughout various threads.

Repeating the same point over and over every time you disagree to try and belittle something i've said does not make your inaccurate evaluation of my opinions factual. There is no baffling bias, the only thing baffling is how you seem to be obsessed with holding out the bias card each time you don't agree with me!

I wouldn't mind if we could have a respectful discussion sharing our views regarding this matter, however it does appear yet again that won't be possible...

 

[lastbus]

I was referring to your continued and baffling bias to certain operators throughout various threads.

If Lothian were that bothered about people being left behind then maybe they shouldn’t have taken their Linlithgow buses off in the first place.

 

[Journeyman]

The First X38 is increasing from Monday, i had a look on the app around 10am and there was one Edinburgh bound full before it got to Linlithgow. As i'm sure you're aware part of the issue with the X38 is that deckers are not suitable. I can't see the LCB X38 being reinstated at the moment as it's in no way an essential service and the Gov are more likely to put funding towards the First route.

Why is the LCB X38 any less essential than the First one?

 

[CN04NRJ]

Repeating the same point over and over every time you disagree to try and belittle something i've said does not make your inaccurate evaluation of my opinions factual. There is no baffling bias, the only thing baffling is how you seem to be obsessed with holding out the bias card each time you don't agree with me!

I wouldn't mind if we could have a respectful discussion sharing our views regarding this matter, however it does appear yet again that won't be possible...

I agree that in this case it's not possible.

As previous times when you've stated that none of LCB's services, in your opinion, are essential and it should be First running said service between X and Y without any other real explanation than Lothian's expansion into West Lothian doesn't meet your approval.

 

[overthewater]

Why is the LCB X38 any less essential than the First one?

because they NOT running right now? only essential services are running right now?

 

[CN04NRJ]

If Lothian were that bothered about people being left behind then maybe they shouldn’t have taken their Linlithgow buses off in the first place.

I never said that they should be, obviously it is entirely their commercial decision whether it is viable to reinstate that service or not. I was just surmising whether it may make a return based on my observations over the last few weeks - in particular today when I had the chance to witness the amount (around 15-20 people) being left behind along one short section of the route due to First's (non mandated) seating policy.

As per Jordan's post, I think it's good news that First are increasing their X38 from next week as it would be a real shame if /anyone/, regardless of who they choose to travel with, abandon public transport for good because they are refused travel due to non-mandatory seating policies. My intention here isn't to criticise First, just stating my worries that this will do permanent damage to the industry as a whole.

 

[overthewater]

LCB has done the exact same as First and only had hourly service into Edinburgh yet the X18 and X28 are both every 30mins within the West Lothian area.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Why is the LCB X38 any less essential than the First one?

Because the First service offers something the LCB service doesn't, while the LCB service doesn't offer anything the First service can't. This being that the First service extends beyond Linlithgow, hence differing operators aside the LCB service is essentially just a short working. If First withdrew the X38 but Lothian kept theirs (as it was pre-lockdown) loads of people would be stuck in their house with no real alternative, if it was the other way round that wouldn't be the case.

If things got to the point where even the enhanced First timetable couldn't cope then i could see the case for reinstating the LCB X38, but we won't know if that's the case until next week.

I agree that in this case it's not possible.

As previous times when you've stated that none of LCB's services, in your opinion, are essential and it should be First running said service between X and Y without any other real explanation than Lothian's expansion into West Lothian doesn't meet your approval.

The original point i made was that it seemed logical for Lothian to withdraw much of their network as it's covered by First services that were being retained and/or were more essential (in the sense they offered more) so it made more sense for Lothian to spend resources on services that don't have a suitable alternatives in the city. This had nothing to do with my opinion of either company, but just seemed a common sense approach on Lothians part given that First cover more ground in the region. Retaining the X18, X27 & X28 also seemed logical because they do offer connections that other operators don't. My point about routes not being essential was specifically towards the X17/275/280 for this reason.

 

[lastbus]

I never said that they should be, obviously it is entirely their commercial decision whether it is viable to reinstate that service or not. I was just surmising whether it may make a return based on my observations over the last few weeks - in particular today when I had the chance to witness the amount (around 15-20 people) being left behind along one short section of the route due to First's (non mandated) seating policy.

As per Jordan's post, I think it's good news that First are increasing their X38 from next week as it would be a real shame if /anyone/, regardless of who they choose to travel with, abandon public transport for good because they are refused travel due to non-mandatory seating policies. My intention here isn't to criticise First, just stating my worries that this will do permanent damage to the industry as a whole.

The government advice atm is 2 metres distance and it’s clearly stated in the government’s phases that transport will be operating with reduced capacity. First are being a responsible operator and employer by putting this in place.

 

[CN04NRJ]

The government advice atm is 2 metres distance and it’s clearly stated in the government’s phases that transport will be operating with reduced capacity. First are being a responsible operator and employer by putting this in place.

They will also have an obligation not to leave vulnerable people behind where possible - driving past every bus stop after it's 'full' with a shake of the head or hands without stopping to explain or find out if this person is vulnerable isn't meeting this obligation. Their seating policy, which is not mandatory, doesn't fulfill this obligation. Or at the very least the way it's being carried out in practice isn't doing so, whatever their advice to their drivers may be (I wouldn't know).

 

[Jordan Adam]

They will also have an obligation not to leave vulnerable people behind where possible - driving past every bus stop after it's 'full' with a shake of the head or hands without stopping to explain or find out if this person is vulnerable isn't meeting this obligation. Their seating policy, which is not mandatory, doesn't fulfill this obligation.

When buses are full a "bus full" display does show. However i do agree and hope the seating policy is dropped soon because at this stage it's arguably no longer necessary and it's causing social media to flame up whenever someone sits on a seat that's marketed out! It's somewhat of a catch 22 situation...

 

[CN04NRJ]

When buses are full a "bus full" display does show. However i do agree and hope the seating policy is dropped soon because at this stage it's arguably no longer necessary and it's causing social media to flame up whenever someone sits on a seat that's marketed out! It's somewhat of a catch 22 situation...

Completely agree, the mandatory wearing of face masks will also reduce the risk of virus exposure so I hope their policy is reviewed soon. From what I've seen on the buses I've been driving the overwhelming amount of people are complying with wearing masks (and I presume most of the remainder are exempt).

 

[Jordan Adam]

Completely agree, the mandatory wearing of face masks will also reduce the risk of virus exposure so I hope their policy is reviewed soon. From what I've seen on the buses I've been driving the overwhelming amount of people are complying with wearing masks (and I presume most of the remainder are exempt).

Agree. Although i do think the priority should be towards sanitisation and hygiene, the effectiveness of masks is debatable, especially given that many of the masks people are using do not protect them from getting the virus.

 

[GusB]

The effectiveness of face coverings is already being discussed in the dedicated Covid-19 section of the forum, so please take it there.

Also, this particular thread has been relatively free of bickering in recent times - let's keep it that way. Thank you

 

[overthewater]

From Monday the X38 will be every 20mins

 

[PaulMc7]

The timetable for it has updated on the app already and it's showing as every 20 mins although it doesn't start til Monday. Not the first time First's app has updated timetables too early though

 

[Jordan Adam]

The timetable for it has updated on the app already and it's showing as every 20 mins although it doesn't start til Monday. Not the first time First's app has updated timetables too early though

The reason for this is because the changes were due to come in from the 21st but were delayed by a week, as such the start date on the timetable data sent to the TransXChange is the 21st rather than the 28th. The timetables on the First website are manually uploaded, the ones used for the journey planners and apps are not.

 

[PaulMc7]

The reason for this is because the changes were due to come in from the 21st but were delayed by a week, as such the start date on the timetable data sent to the TransXChange is the 21st rather than the 28th.

Aw that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the info

 

[Bus9120UK]

Lothian Country Route changes from 21 July

Route 43 terminus moved to Regent Road
Route X18 Serves more stops in Corstorphine area
Routes 275, 280 reinstated
Other routes get timetable changes

Bus stop changes in the city centre:
Service 43 citybound will serve PF instead of PC, followed by PN & ZK before arriving at Regent Road.
Service 43 westbound will serve ZJ, PQ and PU.
Service X18 westbound will serve stop SE instead of SD at Shandwick Place

Service changes from Sunday 12 July - Lothian Buses

Lothian Buses has today (Friday 3 July) announced its intention to introduce an update to its critical services network from Sunday 12 July to help keep Edinburgh and the Lothians moving as the country moves through the Scottish Government’s routemap to recovery. Since the introduction of the...

www.lothianbuses.com

Lothian Buses has today (Friday 3 July) announced its intention to introduce an update to its critical services network from Sunday 12 July to help keep Edinburgh and the Lothians moving as the country moves through the Scottish Government’s routemap to recovery.

Since the introduction of the Critical Services Network on Sunday 29 March, teams across Lothian have continued to analyse customer travel patterns and customer feedback to ensure the business is meeting the needs of as many key workers and essential travellers as possible.

 

[overthewater]

I see Service X17, X38 and Ex2 have failed to be reinstated, I've heard the Ex2 isn't coming back.

What is also surprising is the 280 has only come back every 30mins, while the 275 will now curtail at Broxburn instead of travelling all the way to the Gyle. Since many companies and Shops are back surely there is demand for this section to return?

X18 is getting slower with even more stops being added.

 

[cnjb8]

I see Service X17, X38 and Ex2 have failed to be reinstated, I've heard the Ex2 isn't coming back.

What is also surprising is the 280 has only come back every 30mins, while the 275 will now curtail at Broxburn instead of travelling all the way to the Gyle. Since many companies and Shops are back surely there is demand for this section to return?

X18 is getting slower with even more stops being added.

Whats happening to the coaches then?

 

[route101]

Whats happening to the coaches then?

They are parked up at Newbridge at the mo

 

[overthewater]

It's been suggested they going to lothian motorcoaches.

 

[TheEastCoaster]

I see Service X17, X38 and Ex2 have failed to be reinstated, I've heard the Ex2 isn't coming back.

What is also surprising is the 280 has only come back every 30mins, while the 275 will now curtail at Broxburn instead of travelling all the way to the Gyle. Since many companies and Shops are back surely there is demand for this section to return?

X18 is getting slower with even more stops being added.

noticed they haven’t mentioned about the X18 going into Gogar at peak times! Unless it’s still closed and they are waiting for the X17 to help co-ordinate it

also surprised they didn’t bother bringing the 275 out to the Gyle, but better than nothing I suppose

 

[Observer]

It's been suggested they going to lothian motorcoaches.

The same Lothian Motorcoaches that allegedly was having to cut back and was offering drivers the chance to move to service work instead?

Would the coaches not be good for some ECB work instead?