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Scottish Budget 2026; what’s in it for buses?

On 13th January the Scottish Government published its 2026/27 budget proposals.

Under revenue, £528.3m was announced for Concessionary Fares and Bus Services in 2026/27.

As EBUG often has to point out, free bus travel is a personal benefit, like prescriptions, not an investment in buses. Operators are reimbursed at an annually adjusted rate, currently some 55p in the £. The legislation requires that they be neither better nor worse off for participating in the scheme. Scottish Government documents invariably suggest the scheme subsidises buses. It does not, but we have to live with this spin. Continue reading “Scottish Budget 2026; what’s in it for buses?”

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Edinburgh Bus Users Group: Members’ Bulletin 24; January 2026

Welcome to the first EBUG Members Bulletin of 2026.
The big events of the year are the Scottish Budget and the Scottish Parliament election.
  • Our Secretary wrote a commentary for Transform Scotland on November’s bus debate at the Scottish Parliament. It suggests the debate showed current MSPs lack insight into how to tackle declining bus use across Scotland; relying instead on formulaic repetition of their particular party’s policies. As the Scottish budget has to be agreed early in 2026, this does not bode well. However, there is still enough time for the 2026 party manifestos to include more effective ideas.

Continue reading “Edinburgh Bus Users Group: Members’ Bulletin 24; January 2026”

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A warning at West Maitland Street?

In early September, eastbound Lothian Buses stopped serving the bus stops on West Maitland Street; they are now served only by East Coast Buses, express and NightBus services.

Local residents, workers and Murrayfield Community Council told EBUG of the inconvenience this has caused; it’s over 600m between the stops at Haymarket and Shandwick Place, well over the limit for a dense urban area just west of the city centre. The stops on Shandwick Place are also further spread out and have no shelters.

Community representatives heard that Lothian Buses withdrew from the stops because delays incurred were not counterbalanced by heavy passenger use. EBUG visited the sites twice. It was clear that West Maitland Street illustrates many of the problems on which we campaign throughout Edinburgh. Continue reading “A warning at West Maitland Street?”

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No. 22; EBUG Members’ Bulletin September 2025

Dear EBUG member,
This is the latest EBUG Bulletin. A lot of new members have joined us recently. To them, we say welcome; we try to mail out these Bulletins every couple of months.
Unfortunately, EBUG’s Annual General Meeting on 19th June was inquorate (it was very good weather that day …). However, we had a successful second attempt online on 1 September. Thanks to those who attended, enabling us to complete the required AGM business, and approve a few minor changes to our Constitution; these will streamline our future activities. It’s enormously encouraging that so many members took the time to deal with ‘business’, which is often a dry but essential subject.
We welcomed two new Committee members: Paul Travill and Zoe Harle, taking our complement to eight. There are three Committee vacancies; anyone interested please contact chair@edinburghbususers.group.
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No. 21 – Edinburgh Bus Users Group: Members’ Bulletin June 2025

Dear EBUG member,
Welcome to the latest EBUG Bulletin.
  • Please remember the EBUG Annual General Meeting will be on Thursday 19 June, from 6pm to 8pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh. On the agenda:
    – Approval of the draft minutes of the 2024 AGM. (linked here)
    – Presentation of the Committee’s report for the year. (linked here)
    – Presentation of  EBUG’s accounts for the previous year. (linked here)
    – Edinburgh Bus Users Group Constitution (May 2025 Draft for Approval) (linked here) with Summary of Changes to EBUG Constitution (linked here)
    – Elect a Committee of up to 11 members.
  • After the AGM formalities, YOU can share good bus practice from elsewhere in the UK or abroad.
    We invite good bus practice examples. The best will be recorded and published on our website, and may be used to lobby the Council, Lothian Buses and the Scottish Government. Come prepared!
  • Our collaboration with Napier students, reported in the last Members Bulletin, is now complete and a very useful report has been produced.
  • Usually Lothian Buses publishes ridership figures for the past year in their Annual Report. For reasons unknown, this year’s Annual Report has not yet been published. Nevertheless, Managing Director Sarah Boyd told a Scottish Parliament  Committee that ridership rose from 110 million trips (2023) to 116 million (2024). This is almost back to the pre-Covid peak. The rise may be due (among other factors) to the acquisition of routes in East and West Lothian; against this should be set at least some loss of passengers to the tram extension to Newhaven.
  • Edinburgh Council’s Transport & Environment Committee ‘rationalised’ its proposed programme of transport projects from now up to the year 2035, reflecting the realities of likely future funding. Given the scale of the proposed programme, this was probably inevitable. Bus-based projects were included in the cuts, but it could have been much worse. EBUG, and other groups, presented a deputation to the Committee meeting on May 22.
  • The Council is still committed to its target of reducing car mileage by 30%, despite the Scottish Government dropping its less ambitious 20% target. Edinburgh’s higher target reflected the likelihood of reducing car use in Scotland’s cities being easier than in rural areas.
  • Our next Bulletin is due to be published at the end of July; by which time we hope to have seen you at the AGM. Remember; non-members are welcome to attend and contribute to the ideas-sharing session, although they can’t vote on the formal business
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The Bus Partnership Fund; what our FOI revealed

In April, EBUG submitted an FOI request to Transport Scotland requesting details of funding disbursed by the Bus Partnership Fund, which the Scottish Government closed in 2024. On 9 May Transport Scotland replied that this was addressed by an earlier FOI ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400432144/ ), though figures for the North East Bus Alliance had more recently been finalised.

We grouped the spending in geographical areas by 3 categories:
A. Projects which produced actual physical change on road networks
B. Projects producing some change to roads networks, as well as studies, appraisals etc (where data does not clearly distinguish them)
C. Projects producing only studies, appraisals etc

Continue reading “The Bus Partnership Fund; what our FOI revealed”