EBUG news

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No. 20 – Edinburgh Bus Users Group: Members’ Bulletin April 2025

Welcome to the latest EBUG Bulletin.
  • The EBUG Annual General Meeting will be on Thursday 19 June, from 6pm to 8pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh.
    Our Constitution requires members to be notified at least 21 days before the meeting, including venue, date and time. So this is the formal notice of the AGM. As usual, we will:
    – Elect a Committee of up to 11 members (nominations may be made to the Secretary beforehand or at the meeting).
    – Present a report of our work over the year.
    – Present EBUG’s accounts for the previous year.
    – Discuss any proposals given to the Secretary at least 14 days before the meeting. Continue reading “No. 20 – Edinburgh Bus Users Group: Members’ Bulletin April 2025”
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Making EBUG (even) more effective in representing bus user views

Napier University students are looking at how to increase EBUG’s ‘reach’ with bus users & influence on local and national policy.

They’re surveying local bus users for evidence on how to enhance community engagement & reflect user needs.

To take part, click  https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=WNzgmUucIEiGFwTDhsJUxnNGbbi4RMZNoTH_4m-vPYNUNVQ0OFhLS1ZWWTNESU9aN1lLOVIyTjFWMy4u

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No. 19 – Edinburgh Bus Users Group: Members’ Bulletin February 2025

Welcome to the latest EBUG Bulletin.

  • We were shocked and saddened to hear that our Treasurer, Fiona McLean, had died in December. Fiona had been a Committee member since 2022, and took on the Treasurer’s role in 2023. She quietly and diligently carried out the vital task of looking after EBUGs finances, which remain in a good state to this day. Her contribution as a committee member and office bearer will be missed. Our thoughts are with Fiona’s family and friends.
  • On a brighter note, our Chair Mike Birch will be working with Napier University students on a project to look at how we can broaden our engagement with the bus user community. We are conscious that, while EBUG is well-known in local transport circles, there are probably thousands of regular, occasional, and potential bus users who have not yet heard of us. More details to come as the project progresses.

Continue reading “No. 19 – Edinburgh Bus Users Group: Members’ Bulletin February 2025”

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The decline in bus routes in Scotland

This piece was initially written for another transport campaign. We are publishing it in full here, with a few minor changes to update it for 2025.

It is axiomatic that bus use, and bus services, are continually declining. There are many ways in which this is illustrated, often reflecting the viewpoint that is being argued.

Here, we look at short to long term trends, possible explanations and remedies. As far as it’s possible, we examine trends over the last 50 years, and shorter periods within that half century.

We generally draw a line in 2019, as data since then is heavily affected by the Covid pandemic. Nevertheless, there is reason to believe that a ‘post-Covid’ pattern of bus travel is emerging, with, very broadly, bus use in much of Scotland back to around 85% of pre-Covid levels. The patterns of travel are different, and evolving. But the headline figures pre- and post-Covid show a family resemblance.

Continue reading “The decline in bus routes in Scotland”

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No. 18 – Edinburgh Bus Users Group: Members’ Bulletin December 2024

Welcome to the latest EBUG Bulletin.

A further consultation on CEC’s ‘Active Travel’ project Leith Connections (Hawthornvale to Seafield) closed in November, with the objectives of ‘delivering a more liveable neighbourhood, active travel and public realm improvements, and bringing Lindsay Road Bridge back into use for walking, wheeling and cycling’.

However, it looks like an exemplar of issues raised by many such projects which, while branded as ‘Active Travel’, are actually cycling-led with little or no attention to walking. EBUG’s robust response criticised the removal of bus priority measures, the removal or relocation of bus stops, and the deployment of floating bus stops as a default measure.

After submitting a Freedom of Information request, we obtained an update on the total length of bus lanes in Edinburgh. The Council now estimates them at 66.7km. This is broadly the same as in the mid 2010s, after a 4km drop in recent years. However, the Council is not sure of the exact length, having not carried out an audit in recent years.

Continue reading “No. 18 – Edinburgh Bus Users Group: Members’ Bulletin December 2024”

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No. 17 – Edinburgh Bus Users Group: Members’ Bulletin October 2024

Welcome to the latest EBUG Bulletin
  • Home news first; this month Stuart Stevenson joined the Committee. Welcome Stuart! There are now just two Committee vacancies; any EBUG members interested in joining, please contact secretary@edinburghbususers.group. There was also a reshuffle of the Committee, with Harald Tobermann and Chris Day stepping down as Chair and Secretary, to be replaced by Mike Birch and Gail Clapton. Nevertheless, the Committee does not operate as a hierarchy!

Continue reading “No. 17 – Edinburgh Bus Users Group: Members’ Bulletin October 2024”

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An open letter to Edinburgh’s next Transport Convener

Dear Councillor Jenkinson,

Congratulations on your new appointment as Transport Convener. We are sure you will be aware that this can be a challenging role, and we thought that some of our observations may prove helpful.

At Full Council in September 2022, our deputation acknowledged how Edinburgh’s bus network is successful, but often taken for granted. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a successful partnership between the Council and bus operators. At that time, Lothian Buses operated a successful service, grew passenger numbers and returned a dividend to its share-owning Councils.

In parallel, the City of Edinburgh Council used its extensive powers as highway authority to assist and where appropriate prioritise bus operations.

Latterly, Edinburgh Council lost sight of this but while Scott Arthur was Transport Convener, a lot of ground was regained. We hope you will progress with his legacy.

Continue reading “An open letter to Edinburgh’s next Transport Convener”

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Developer Contributions to infrastructure under the City Plan 2030

The City of Edinburgh Council is consulting on guidance for Developer Contributions to infrastructure under the ‘City Plan 2030’. (Here, until 17 September: https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/developer-contributions-sup-guidance/ )

Developer Contributions are funds secured from developers to pay for facilities needed because of the development; such as improved transport, school buildings etc. They can cover the cost of new services needed to serve the development.

EBUG also sent written comments to the Council. The main points are:

EBUG has commented previously on Developer Contributions:
https://edinburghbususers.group/missed-opportunity-to-improve-city-buses
https://edinburghbususers.group/cammo-meadows-planning-for-public-transport

In summary, we believe that in recent years, the City of Edinburgh Council has missed opportunities to use the planning process to improve bus services, via Section 75 and direct developer action.

Continue reading “Developer Contributions to infrastructure under the City Plan 2030”

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No. 15 – Edinburgh Bus Users’ Group: Members’ Bulletin July 2024

Dear EBUG member,

Welcome to the latest EBUG Bulletin.

  • Our AGM took place on 6 June. After the business, the main event was a discussion with Professor David Begg; a full report is here. There are now 8 members on our Committee leaving three vacancies. We are particularly keen to attract younger people to join, but members who don’t consider themselves young are of course also welcome. Let us know if you are interested.
  • The General Election then took over the headlines. As almost all bus-related matters are devolved, the direct consequences in Scotland are limited, but of course the UK-wide context is important.
  • Meanwhile, having been elected MP for Edinburgh South West, Scott Arthur will stand down – probably after the summer – as a Councillor and Convenor of Transport and Environment at the City of Edinburgh Council. Technically, Edinburgh’s Transport Convenor just chairs meetings of the Committee, but of course much more happens behind the scenes. Who has the role is therefore important, and we will write an open letter to the new Convenor in due course.
    Scott Arthur was a very active Convenor. Apart from addressing the 2023 EBUG AGM, he steered the city away from the worst of the threats to its buses, restored a degree of balance to the activities of the relevant departments, and put buses back at the centre of transport planning. Under his Convenorship, the Council rounded off a multitude of policies and plans, leaving the rest of this Council term to focus on delivery.
    While Scott helped to root out some of the more fanciful ideas within the Council, we must remain vigilant. We hope the next Convenor will progress with his legacy.

Continue reading “No. 15 – Edinburgh Bus Users’ Group: Members’ Bulletin July 2024”

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Begg – Edinburgh must future-proof its buses

This article first appeared in ‘Passenger Transport’ issue 315, and is reproduced here with the editor’s kind permission.

Out now: Issue 315 of Passenger Transport

Professor David Begg has warned his home city to respond to an increase in bus journey times by extending bus lane hours and vociferous campaigning

David Begg (right) with Edinburgh Bus Users Group chair Harald Tobermann and his dog Buster

It’s a warning that could be applied to cities across the United Kingdom, but on this occasion Professor David Begg was talking about his home city of Edinburgh: future-proof your bus network against further increases in journey times or risk decline.

Begg, former chair of the Commission for Integrated Transport, spoke at a meeting of the Edinburgh Bus Users Group in the Scottish capital last week.

While hailing Edinburgh’s transport system as “one of the best in the UK”, the former Edinburgh councillor urged the group to mobilise bus users and hold politicians to account on bus speeds. He also called on the city’s council-owned bus operator, Lothian Buses, to be more forceful in speaking up for bus users.

Continue reading “Begg – Edinburgh must future-proof its buses”