EBUG news

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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.

Under capital, the budget documents include £226m for ’active travel and bus infrastructure’. The budget documents give few details. However, in the days after the announcement, it emerged that £60m is allocated to bus priority and allied measures in 2026/27.

This may be an initial instalment of the £1.3bn+ for ‘active travel & bus infrastructure, (etc)’ in the ‘Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline’ stretching to 2030, which was published with the Budget papers.

Transform Scotland provided a commentary on the budget and buses https://transform.scot/2026/01/14/making-the-60m-bus-infrastructure-fund-deliver-for-passengers/ and a separate one on the budget and transport more generally https://transform.scot/2026/01/13/jets-buses-and-roads-our-top-3-takeaways-from-the-scottish-budget/ .

EBUG has been highly critical of the Scottish Government for axing the former Bus Partnership Fund. We are happy to applaud the restoration of serious money for bus infrastructure. It’s now up to:

  • Councils like Edinburgh to start implementing the schemes they have in the pipeline
  • Transport Scotland to reduce hurdles Councils face in making use of the funds
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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.
    We encourage all EBUG members to write to their MSPs, MPs and contacts they may have to parties standing in the Scottish Election in May with some or all of EBUG’s ‘election asks’. You can find contact details here – please share any responses you receive with us.
  • At least two other organisations have published ‘election asks’ which call for much of the same priorities as EBUG:  the Confederation of Passenger Transport in Scotland and SESTRAN, the statutory Regional Transport Partnership for SE Scotland.
  • On Christmas Eve, the BBC ran an article on congestion and bus journey times, featuring Lothian Buses route 38 in Edinburgh. The research which ‘inspired’ the article is available here.
  • EBUG highlighted one consequence of extended bus journey time at West Maitland Street, where local services no longer call, because of the impact on schedules.
  • We were pleased that a team of designers working on Edinburgh Council’s ‘Barnton Connections’ project asked for EBUG’s opinion on initial designs. This is a walking and cycling project with limited impact on buses. Nevertheless it is encouraging that the team sought out bus user views, which are often overlooked in Council projects.
  • December’s meeting of the EBUG committee discussed the number of bus stops across Edinburgh that are closed, with some ‘temporarily’ closed for very long periods; for example northbound on George IV Bridge. We decided to ask all EBUG members to tell us about bus stops that have been removed, permanently or temporarily for more than a month. Please tell us about bus stop closures near you using this short form.
  • EBUG is pleased to see public transport patronage increasing to 130m per year across Lothian’s bus and tram network.
  • On 13th January the Scottish Government published their 2026/27 budget proposals with £226m capital spend planned for “active travel and bus infrastructure” – details are lacking. In the revenue section, £528.3m are announced for Concessionary Fares and Bus Services in 2026/27 (up from £472.7m); while welcome, free bus travel is of no use if there are no bus services (bus operators are reimbursed with only 55% of the full fare) or the buses are delayed (by insufficient bus lanes and bus lane enforcement). Look out for further EBUG commentary on the Scottish Budget next week on our website news section.

Your EBUG Committee

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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”

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EBUG AGM agenda

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.