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

[Graeme Duncan]

I was passing Marine depot yesterday afternoon and noticed a bus covered in Strawberry Strongbow livery .Can anybody confirm the fleet number please.

 

[ScotRail158725]

I was passing Marine depot yesterday afternoon and noticed a bus covered in Strawberry Strongbow livery .Can anybody confirm the fleet number please.

498

 

[Lothian285]

Has there been any news on Lothian operating Citylink routes yet?

 

[VioletEclipse]

Have any of the following buses been delivered/entered service?: 721, 726, 727, 729, 731, 732, 734, 735, 736, 738, 740, 741, 743, 745, 746, 747 and 750.

 

[ScotRail158725]

Have any of the following buses been delivered/entered service?: 721, 726, 727, 729, 731, 732, 734, 735, 736, 738, 740, 741, 743, 745, 746, 747 and 750.

729 and 731 been in service ages

 

[VioletEclipse]

729 and 731 been in service ages

oops sorry, meant 728 not 729, and no sure why I put 731 in!

 

[Bus9120UK]

Have any of the following buses been delivered/entered service?: 721, 726, 727, 729, 731, 732, 734, 735, 736, 738, 740, 741, 743, 745, 746, 747 and 750.

Last sighting of 735/41 in February - https://flickr.com/photos/quomaneastlothian/54363867722/ (Flickr image shows 735/41 at Seafield).
No idea where they are just now!

721 is on the official Lothian fleet list. The rest are (probably) undelivered.

 

[VioletEclipse]

Last sighting of 735/41 in February - https://flickr.com/photos/quomaneastlothian/54363867722/ (Flickr image shows 735/41 at Seafield).
No idea where they are just now!

721 is on the official Lothian fleet list. The rest are (probably) undelivered.

thanks a lot!

slightly curious as to how two buses can appear at Seafield looking almost ready to enter service, and then just disappear for 4 months.

 

[ian1944]

Took the ECB 106 today from Fort Kinnaird to Haddington via QMU, where it didn't pull into the yard with the 4/30 stops, nor was there any sign of a stop on the road past. Are passengers expected to use the 46/48 stops across the railway?

 

[Porty]

Took the ECB 106 today from Fort Kinnaird to Haddington via QMU, where it didn't pull into the yard with the 4/30 stops, nor was there any sign of a stop on the road past. Are passengers expected to use the 46/48 stops across the railway?

Yes. That's the routing shown on the map on the app.

 

[Lothian285]

Took the ECB 106 today from Fort Kinnaird to Haddington via QMU, where it didn't pull into the yard with the 4/30 stops, nor was there any sign of a stop on the road past. Are passengers expected to use the 46/48 stops across the railway?

This change was made at the service changes last month where it said:

Service 106 will also not serve Queen Margaret University turning circle, and will serve new stops being added to the main road.

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

Took the ECB 106 today from Fort Kinnaird to Haddington via QMU, where it didn't pull into the yard with the 4/30 stops, nor was there any sign of a stop on the road past. Are passengers expected to use the 46/48 stops across the railway?

At the moment yes. I reported the lack of new stops on Queen Margaret Drive to both Lothian and East Lothian Council back in April, hoping the two would have some kind of plan. Neither even knew what they were doing. Lothian assumed they’d been put up while the council had never been asked. There should be 2 stops on each side. The 106 is meant to use all 4 stops, while the 4 uses just the 2 stops on the west approach to/from the A1. For now passengers using the 106 have to get on/off at the last stop on Clayknowes Road.

The issue is, where the stops are meant to go also requires a small amount of public realm works; there is no direct pavement access from the road to the pavement apart from the future pedestrian crossing. This prevents any chance of temporary stops being installed until the above is done. Really the 106 should still be serving the campus stop but for whatever reason, that hasn’t been actioned on.

Really poor from all parties involved. I had asked to make this information clear, which it never has been.

 

[percycranky]

Yes, an updated version of the second one.

According to my considerable collection(!) of network maps, the 9 September 2013 map (with 7 January 2014 city centre stop arrangements) used the old style, which superimposed the routes over a to-scale map of Edinburgh. However, the 1 June 2014 map was probably the first (designed by K Findlay) to use the "diagrammatic" "not-to-scale" map, which is still in use to date. It's unlikely that Lothian will ever revert to their original design, abandoned eleven years ago, so if an updated version were to be created, it would probably have to be volunteer-made.

 

[VioletEclipse]

Does anyone know what the regestration plate of Transit S15 was? Used on the short lived airport shuttle.

 

[stevenedin]

498 is out on the 140 today.

 

[ScotRail158725]

498 is out on the 140 today.

retrimmed internally but not repainted yet

 

[ian1944]

At the moment yes. I reported the lack of new stops on Queen Margaret Drive to both Lothian and East Lothian Council back in April, hoping the two would have some kind of plan. Neither even knew what they were doing. Lothian assumed they’d been put up while the council had never been asked. There should be 2 stops on each side. The 106 is meant to use all 4 stops, while the 4 uses just the 2 stops on the west approach to/from the A1. For now passengers using the 106 have to get on/off at the last stop on Clayknowes Road.

The issue is, where the stops are meant to go also requires a small amount of public realm works; there is no direct pavement access from the road to the pavement apart from the future pedestrian crossing. This prevents any chance of temporary stops being installed until the above is done. Really the 106 should still be serving the campus stop but for whatever reason, that hasn’t been actioned on.

Really poor from all parties involved. I had asked to make this information clear, which it never has been.

I've just asked Lothian to revert to using the turning circle in the absence of stops on QM Drive, reply promised within 10 working days. Not expecting concurrence, though would add only about a minute to the running time.

 

[stevenedin]

I've just asked Lothian to revert to using the turning circle in the absence of stops on QM Drive, reply promised within 10 working days. Not expecting concurrence, though would add only about a minute to the running time.

I doubt that Lothian would do anything. They seem to do what they want and don't care about any feedback unless you are giving them praise. Fingers crossed though.

 

[Bus9120UK]

I've just asked Lothian to revert to using the turning circle in the absence of stops on QM Drive, reply promised within 10 working days. Not expecting concurrence, though would add only about a minute to the running time.

That minute of running time makes all the difference when part of this change was designed to tackle running time challenges on the route.

 

[318266]

Does anyone know what the regestration [sic] plate of Transit S15 was? Used on the short lived airport shuttle.

SH57 AUR, per Bus Lists On The Web.

 

[Avenger20]

That minute of running time makes all the difference when part of this change was designed to tackle running time challenges on the route.

At the expense of passenger comfort and convenience which is habit that Lothian are indulging in a bit too often nowadays, as well as axing lifeline routes for commercial reasons - not because they were neccesarily loss making as a whole but not profitable enough. It's a sorry state of affairs for what was once the absolute crown jewel in municipal bus transportation.

 

[FP transport v]

The drivers on the 106 definitely know there's meant to be a stop there as I've had at least two now that have more than happily stopped on the main road just outside the main stops where the 4/30 go, whether hailed down or someone wanting to alight

 

[LothianBusesPh]

The drivers on the 106 definitely know there's meant to be a stop there as I've had at least two now that have more than happily stopped on the main road just outside the main stops where the 4/30 go, whether hailed down or someone wanting to alight

It's on the AVL.

 

[NorthEastern]

At the expense of passenger comfort and convenience which is habit that Lothian are indulging in a bit too often nowadays, as well as axing lifeline routes for commercial reasons - not because they were neccesarily loss making as a whole but not profitable enough. It's a sorry state of affairs for what was once the absolute crown jewel in municipal bus transportation.

To improve running times generally, in my opinion Lothian should be looking at widening the distance between stops. Yes, potentially at the expense of individual passenger convenience but communally better overall.

 

[VioletEclipse]

SH57 AUR, per Bus Lists On The Web.

thank you!

 

[Resuwen]

The Strongbow bus 498 is a bit odd in that it has no EastCoastbuses logo on it whatsoever

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

The Strongbow bus 498 is a bit odd in that it has no EastCoastbuses logo on it whatsoever

On all over adverts, operator logos are generally not allowed. It depends on whether there’s space or if the company being advertised wants exclusivity.

 

[buslad1988]

To improve running times generally, in my opinion Lothian should be looking at widening the distance between stops. Yes, potentially at the expense of individual passenger convenience but communally better overall.

They already are, and ideally that’s what their pushing for… however it’s often difficult to convince the council to that easily!

 

[Baileygirl]

Could be that they have no logos on it so it could be transferred easily to city and West Lothian services to advertise the brand.

 

[ScotRail158725]

Could be that they have no logos on it so it could be transferred easily to city and West Lothian services to advertise the brand.

Its not thats its purely down to no space or advertiser exclusivity