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Lothian Group discussion (Lothian City, Lothian Country Bus and East Coast Buses)

Scotrail88

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Didn’t realise in such a state for so long - probably best to withdraw and sell on if such.

Probably not for this but will be interesting to see if Lothian have bid and successful for the imminent next round of funding for electrics and what routes could be candidates.
 
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buslad1988

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Didn’t realise in such a state for so long - probably best to withdraw and sell on if such.

Probably not for this but will be interesting to see if Lothian have bid and successful for the imminent next round of funding for electrics and what routes could be candidates.
Funding is only a minor factor of future increases in electric vehicle intake. Infrastructure will be the major concern; charging points and garage layouts aren’t currently suitable for any significant electric orders.

The BYD City’s are also slugging their guts out on 23’s… most aren’t lasting a full days service with the majority running in early each night.
 

route101

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It is believed the buses will be withdrawn from service soon. Waste of time? Some of the ones converted to diesel have been in this state for 4 years!
First Glasgow hybrids have also been withdrawn.

Was in Edinburgh yesterday, first time in a while. Noticed lots of new E400MMCs, of varying wheelbase lengths.
 

FlybeDash8Q400

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First Glasgow hybrids have also been withdrawn.

Was in Edinburgh yesterday, first time in a while. Noticed lots of new E400MMCs, of varying wheelbase lengths.
There’s only one chassis for Lothian that have the E400mmc body which is the new 11.2m Volvo B5TL’s. You will still on occasion see other operators with the standard ADL E40D and Scania chassis ones but they’re much less common than they used to be.

The Volvo B8L’s are on the similar but different E400XLB body.

Lothian also have 4 BYD E400city’s as well.
 
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route101

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There’s only one chassis for Lothian that have the E400mmc body which is the new 11.2m Volvo B5TL’s. You will still on occasion see other operators with the standard ADL E40D and Scania chassis ones but they’re much less common than they used to be.

The Volvo B8L’s are on the similar but different E400XLB body.

Lothian also have 4 BYD E400city’s as well.
I see, I forgot they were B5TLs, do look the same as any other MMC though ( That's buses for you)

My eyes must be playing tricks, with shorter and longer B5TLs!
 

scosutsut

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I see, I forgot they were B5TLs, do look the same as any other MMC though ( That's buses for you)

My eyes must be playing tricks, with shorter and longer B5TLs!
There are different lengths of Gemini 2 B9TLs, with the ex London's in the mix. Everything else is one size per type as far as I can think of.
 

FlybeDash8Q400

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Anyone else know if Lothian are having issues with the direct debits? A friend has had his seized by a driver and my direct debit hasn’t come off. Both of us are due to receive the free travel from 1st Feb but I should still pay for this month.
 

stevenedin

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Mine is still set up but nothing g come out yet. It could be due to bank holidays. I wouldn’t have thought that it would cancel the card though?
 

buslad1988

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Saturday service continuing from 6th January (until atleast 22nd January). Not yet on Lothians website but staff aware. This is to ease problems with covid/isolation related absences.
 

CN04NRJ

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Why are the E400 ex hybrids being parked up?
Seems a waste of converting time to E6 diesel and then not using.

They were already Euro 5 on conversion and have since had Euro 6 exhaust upgrades, some have had manual ramps as well.
 

RomeoCharlie71

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Saturday service continuing from 6th January (until atleast 22nd January). Not yet on Lothians website but staff aware. This is to ease problems with covid/isolation related absences.
Now available here: https://www.lothianbuses.com/news/2021/12/changes-to-service-levels-from-6-22-january-2022/

Throughout the festive period, like many other organisations, we have continued to feel the impact of the Omicron strain of Covid-19 with self-isolation and rising sickness levels amongst our colleagues placing considerable pressure on our ability to deliver our services to the levels our customers would expect.

To ensure the stability and reliability of our network, we have taken the decision to operate a Saturday service with enhanced school journeys across all Lothian and Lothian Country services from 6 January until 22 January. During this time, we will the situation under review and where appropriate we will update customers as soon as possible. East Coast Buses will return to a normal timetable from 5 January.

We will, however, operate the school services which would ordinarily run on weekdays on Services 11, 42, 44, 45 and 400. Timetables for Services 42 and 45 can be found here.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and would like to thank all of our customers for their patience and understanding as we endeavour to cope with circumstances outwith our control.

Once again, we are incredibly grateful to the teams across our business who have continued to work around the clock to deliver for our customers during these uncertain times maintaining vital links across Edinburgh and the Lothians – their patience and understanding is greatly appreciated.

If you are planning a journey on our services, we ask that you continue to help us to keep our colleagues and fellow customers safe by following the latest Scottish Government guidance which can be found on our Safe Travel page. This includes the wearing of a face covering over your nose and mouth for the duration of your journey unless exempt, and leaving windows open to increase ventilation.

Please allow more time for your travel.
 

Vectron383

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I’d be inclined to agree with you on the fleet standardisation aspect- for example Lothian must have close to 200 E400s based off the MMC model (While acknowledging there will be differences between standard and MMC models there will still be a greater commonality aspect) and most likely similar numbers of Gemini 2 and 3s. Compared to those numbers a sub fleet of 15 or so E400s would be illogical to operate and maintain
 

Vectron383

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They are in a really good condition and undoubtedly some will be snapped up by operators with slightly different requirements to Lothian - in the city centre there is often a chance to compare Lothian’s original E400s with Stagecoach examples of a similar age and the difference in condition is easy to see
 

computerSaysNo

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They are in a really good condition and undoubtedly some will be snapped up by operators with slightly different requirements to Lothian - in the city centre there is often a chance to compare Lothian’s original E400s with Stagecoach examples of a similar age and the difference in condition is easy to see
I wonder what the difference in milage is? As the Stagecoach examples will cover a significantly higher milage each day than the Lothian examples, I would imagine.
 

stevenedin

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I noticed that 373’s engine now sounds like the older B9TLs. It has that screaming noise when driving off from being stationary. Has it had an engine swap does anyone know?
 

CN04NRJ

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MCVs on the 24/48 and the 19 today, along with 7900s.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==

I wonder what the difference in milage is? As the Stagecoach examples will cover a significantly higher milage each day than the Lothian examples, I would imagine.

Surprisingly low for their age, then again the 10 isn't a very long route.
 

Vectron383

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I wonder what the difference in milage is? As the Stagecoach examples will cover a significantly higher milage each day than the Lothian examples, I would imagine.
Mileage will probably be quite a bit higher, I’ve mostly seen Stagecoach E400s on Express Cityconnect routes which’ll have vastly different running conditions.
 

TheEastCoaster

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So I guess now that Lothian has now got a Saturday service reduction for almost all of January the 45 and 300 are effectively suspended again, will wonders ever cease!

Won’t be long till the 300 is put out of it’s sorry misery for good, the 45 could at least have a special service in place like it used to for bank holidays, one school run seems very unfair for the Currie - Firhill corridor
 

FlybeDash8Q400

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Looks as if 10051/2 have moved to Seafield, possibly in prep for repaint?

I had wondered what the chances of 10195/6 coming back out (at least as cover) were, but I didn’t think it was all that likely.
 

Bus9120UK

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Looks as if 10051/2 have moved to Seafield, possibly in prep for repaint?

I had wondered what the chances of 10195/6 coming back out (at least as cover) were, but I didn’t think it was all that likely.
51/52 have been there for a while now so potentially yes. 53/57 were also with them but they quickly returned to service.
 

FlybeDash8Q400

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So I guess now that Lothian has now got a Saturday service reduction for almost all of January the 45 and 300 are effectively suspended again, will wonders ever cease!

Won’t be long till the 300 is put out of it’s sorry misery for good, the 45 could at least have a special service in place like it used to for bank holidays, one school run seems very unfair for the Currie - Firhill corridor
I think if the suspensions to the 45 keep going we’ll see a similar response by locals to how the X5 did in East Lothian. The 300 is dead because the Airport has taken arguably its biggest hit ever. I get Lothian are struggling (nobody has ever disputed that) but constantly taking away links and putting them back in and then back out again isn’t a good move. Either run it or don’t, don’t keep changing it.

Express network has gone, completely agree with that. It should always be the first to go in reductions. The 45 though in some places is the only bus to serve there and offers links that a lot of other buses don’t. I’m not saying it needs to run full Riccarton to QMU. But it should at least be doing Riccarton to City Centre.

For me if you want to get rid of a route the 12 is the one to go. 3 buses that could easily be used elsewhere and almost all of the route is duplicated by other buses. 21 still offers a reasonable connection for those going to/from Gyle at Drum Brae. And if you can manage the walk a 31 to Maybury isn’t a bad one either.
 

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