We’ve updated this post to contain the full article. EBUG’s web weaver apologises for the omission.
Commentary on bus sector recovery
This piece was written for Transform Scotland, and is also available on TS’s website. BBC Scotland also wrote about it.
There was a flurry of interest in early October about public transport recovering from losing passengers during the Covid pandemic. The Scotsman reported transport minister Jenny Gilruth needing to find funding to avert bus service cuts www.scotsman.com/news/transport/lifeline-funding-to-stave-off-massive-bus-service-cuts-urgently-sought-by-transport-minister-jenny-gilruth-3873105. Then Transform Scotland highlighted a recovery in rail patronage, though ScotRail lags behind other operators https://twitter.com/TransformScot/status/1579460922933796864. Back in July 2021, Transform Scotland had highlighted the need for ‘A Just Recovery for Public Transport’ (download link here https://transform.scot/corona-recovery-series-revisited/) Continue reading “Commentary on bus sector recovery”
EBUG’s deputation to CEC: 22 September 2022
Here’s the text of EBUG’s deputation to the City of Edinburgh Council on 22 September 2022, in response to a motion by Cllr Thornley on ‘Hopper fares’, which was passed. Item 8.2 here is https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=150&MId=6468
A webcast of the meeting is available at https://edinburgh.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/701504
N.B. the text differs slightly from ‘as delivered’, especially paragraphs 10-11 which were reduced for brevity)
Continue reading “EBUG’s deputation to CEC: 22 September 2022”
Edinburgh and South East Scotland Bus Partnership fund bid
A presentation on September 4 on the Edinburgh and South East Scotland Bus Partnership fund bid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdPF9D62kwA
The slides below, which featured in the presentation, show
- Potential bus priority corridors to be developed if the bid succeeds.
- Current ‘hotspots’ where buses are particularly delayed by traffic in the mornings.
- Current ‘hotspots’ where buses are particularly delayed in the afternoons.
Send us your comments!
Continue reading “Edinburgh and South East Scotland Bus Partnership fund bid”
No.8 – Members’ Bulletin May 2022
This bulletin was received by EBUG’s web-weaver in early September 2022, i.e. after the AGM it covers.
Dear EBUG member,
This is the eighth of our occasional updates for members.
Our AGM is on Thursday June 30, at 18:00 in the Friends Meeting House, Victoria Terrace. This Members’ Bulletin is the official notification to all members, as required by EBUG’s constitution. https://edinburghbususers.group/ebug-trial/constitution-and-agm-papers. Continue reading “No.8 – Members’ Bulletin May 2022”
The rise of the Autonomous Bus: what do they have to offer?
The media has been quite exercised lately by the planned trial of Autonomous Buses across the Forth between Ferrytoll and Edinburgh Park.
In early May, a member of EBUG’s Committee took part in a workshop run by Edinburgh Napier University as part of the ‘CAVForth’ trail.
The day’s agenda included: Introduction to the research, project overview, pre-trial surveys, benefits and how to realise them, risks and mitigation, drivers and barriers (to name a few)…
It did not include any trial runs of the buses. On-ground trials, with passengers, start later in 2022 (Monday – Sunday, up to every 20mins; probable route number AB1).
The introduction revealed the answer to ‘what are ABs for?’ (reframed as ‘what are their expected benefits?’) is:
- Safety: elimination of human error
- Reliability: ABs could
- potentially overcome unexpected staff unavailability
- continuously adjust optimal driving to meet local circumstances
- Reduce fuel use
Continue reading “The rise of the Autonomous Bus: what do they have to offer?”
Join EBUG!
The link to join EBUG via MailChimp is https://mailchi.mp/34c75658d45a/ebug.
(We’ve corrected an erroneous link in this post about EBUG’s forthcoming AGM. Apologies for any confusion that error caused!)
EBUG 2022 AGM
Jess Pepper of @lovemybus_is guest speaker at our AGM. 6pm, Thursday 30 June in the Quaker Meeting House, Victoria Terrace. Capacity at the Meeting House is 60, so priority goes to:
- EBUG members (sign up at https://mailchi.mp/34c75658d45a/ebug )
- those who email us
Meeting papers are online at https://edinburghbususers.group/ebug-trial/constitution-and-agm-papers
Bus Stop Audit Report: Dalry Road, from Haymarket to Ardmillan Terrace
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Introduction
In the context of ongoing concerns about the variable quality of design, location and/or maintenance of bus stops across Edinburgh, Edinburgh Bus Users Group (EBUG) undertook a pilot ‘audit’ of a busy city corridor.
The audit was undertaken by four EBUG Committee members on the morning of Friday 22 October, between Haymarket and Ardmillan Terrace, including also Henderson Terrace, comprising 11 stops (6 ‘outbound’ and 5 ‘city-bound’). 8 criteria were assessed for each stop, encompassing location, pavement widths (in relation to the Edinburgh Street Design Guidance, see Appendix 1), shelter condition, signage and line marking etc.
An additional aim of the exercise was to take the opportunity to re-evaluate EBUG’s audit template itself, and amend or add any further criteria that seemed relevant and that would be useful for future audits.
We have not incorporated within this report our generic findings on the design of the JC Decaux bus shelters, which we view as being driven by advertising and financial considerations rather than by bus user comfort and convenience. Continue reading “Bus Stop Audit Report: Dalry Road, from Haymarket to Ardmillan Terrace”
Council election manifestos 2022; what’s in them for buses?
Here’s our commentary on the local Party manifestos we’ve seen for the Council elections on May 5. It’s about the local Edinburgh Party manifestos, NOT any national documents which come down from Party HQs.
As well as reading the local Party manifestos, it’s useful to (re)read their answers to our ‘Election Event’ questionnaire (https://edinburghbususers.group/ebug-council-election-event). The SNP and Conservatives either
- didn’t get their act together or
- couldn’t be bothered answering the questionnaire
so that’s an immediate black mark. Or possibly they took one look at the questions and ran a mile. Anyway, this commentary focusses on the actual manifestos. We:
- read each manifesto as it stands
- compared them with each other
- considered whether they matched EBUG’s ‘manifesto’ https://edinburghbususers.group/council-elections-vote-for-good-quality-public-transport-for-everyone
- considered whether words matched deeds in the current Council 2017-2022
Continue reading “Council election manifestos 2022; what’s in them for buses?”