Bring Back our Buses

Confirmation of Council decision on local buses

2009-05-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the Edinburgh City Council Transport committee which made a decision on 26 May about financial support for a number of ‘non-commercial’ bus services. As expected, the main decisions include the following:

1. The 13 will be restored to the previous route from Lochend through Leith and Broughton and the New Town, and as far as Craigleith. However, it will only be running on an hourly frequency over the whole route. This means that the service on the existing 13 route will suffer a loss of frequency from every 30 minutes to 60 minutes. Mark Lazarowicz asked the Council to consider at least providing a 30 minute frequency during the peak hours at least, but they decided not to do this. The suggestion that the Council approach Tescos at Canonmills about making a payment to support the route, as their supermarket will certainly benefit, but we have not been told that the Council took up this suggestion.
2. In addition, the contract for the 13 has been awarded to ‘Edinburgh Coach Lines’ instead of Lothian buses. This will mean that Lothian Ridacards will not be valid on this service, although concessionary bus passes will.
3. The proposal to restore the 17 bus was rejected.
4. The 12 will not be reintroduced to the section between Leith Links and Kings Road Portobello, although Lothian buses do plan to restore the service in due course as far as the old Eastern General.
5. The N26 and N44 buses will not be restored on Monday-Thursday nights.

So although we managed to save the 13 from total removal, and had it extended to cover the route it used to cover, for many people there will still be a deterioraton in service. So the fight to 'Bring Back our buses' goes on!

Edinburgh Council to choose local bus services on 26 May

2009-05-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

Edinburgh City Council will be making its choice about which bus services to subsidise to keep running (this is in addition, of course, to the ones run Lothian Buses and the other companies on a commercial basis without any subsidy).

The decision is likely to be made at a meeting of the Transport Committee on Tuesday 26 May.

The report is complex and not very easy to understand, but here are the key recommendations for Edinburgh North & Leith area:

Route 13 to be restored to the full route from Lochend to Craigleith, but to run on only an hourly basis. The service will no longer be operated by Lothian Buses but Edinburgh Coachlines. This means that Lothian bus passes (except for the fee concessionary pass for pensioners and other categories) will no longer be valid on this route.

The proposal to bring back the 17 is recommended for rejection.

The proposal to bring back the 12 from Leith Links to King's Road is recommended for rejection. However, Lothian buses are to bring back the section from Leith Links to the old Eastern General site without any subsidy.

Other routes throughout Edinburgh affected by this route include the 24, 42, 20, 18, 63 and N16, N26 and N44. When we get the full report, we'll publish it on this site.

Now for North Edinburgh buses..

2009-04-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

Most of the comments on this website have been about the buses in the Broughton area, but we know from comments on our Facebook group that there are many other concerns. If anyone is interested in getting involved in a campaign focussing on buses (or the lack of them) in the North Edinburgh area - particularly the (former) 17 & 32 buses, let us know - either by making a comment here, or send an email to mark@marklazarowicz.org.uk

At the 36 bus stop...

2009-04-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

Mark Lazarowicz was out on the streets today helping collect signatures in support of our campaign. Here he is at the Broughton Road bus stop with a regular user of the 36 bus service - waiting for one of the rush hour buses which are now frequently overcrowded since the 13 was cut back! To download our on-line petition, sign here.

Bring back our buses all over Scotland!

2009-04-18T11:48:00.001-07:00

We've been contacted by John Morton from Glenrothes who is interested in setting up a website/Facebook group to highlight campaigns about and the need for better buses on a Scotland wide-basis. If you're interested in working with him on this, contact hom direct at: NhojMorton@msn.com

Sign the petition!

2009-04-14T04:44:00.000-07:00

We now have petitions you can sign to show your support. We have an e-petition, which you can sign here, and a paper petition, which you can download from here. Get your friends to sign and pass the word around!

No 13 bus - who decides

2009-04-14T04:11:00.000-07:00

A few people have asked who will actually decide the future of the No 13 bus route. The answer is Edinburgh City Council, as Lothian Buses (or any other operator) will only run it, in part or whole, if the Council agrees to subsidise the route.
The key people are the local City Councillors, so if you want to save/bring back/extend the No 13, you should contact your local councillor now. Under the new electoral system, every area has 3 or 4 local councillors; you can contact them all.

You can find out details of the councillors for your area at this link. Most people affected by the old or new 13 route will live in Inverleith, Leith Walk, or Leith wards.

Edinburgh Council is currently run by a coalition of LibDem/SNP councillors, so they have most power, but it is also important to make sure the councillors from the 'opposition' (Labour, Tory, Green) know what you think as well.

A very important person is LibDem Councillor Phil Wheeler who chairs the committee that will decide about the future of the No 13 bus. His email contact is: phil.wheeler@edinburgh.gov.uk

Save the No 13!

2009-04-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

Last year, the number 13 bus was withdrawn between Bellevue, McDonald Road, Leith and Lochend. Edinburgh City Council agreed to provide only enough funding to keep the section of the route between the New Town and Ravelston.

Now, the Council has put the route out to tender again. It is proposing a number of options. These range from extending the service, to withdrawing the service entirely! Our campaign is calling on the Council and Lothian Buses to reinstate the full No 13 route, as part of a wider campaign to improve bus services in the area.

Restoring the number 13 will give local residents a better choice of buses, and relieve pressure on the number 36 and other local buses. With timetable improvements, it could also provide a better frequency for local residents.

The options the Council are considering include:
1.Keeping the existing 'short' 13 route
2.Reestablishing the ‘old’ 13 route through Broughton to Leith and Findlay Gardens
3.Extending the route at each end, to serve Craigleith in the west , and to cover the former 12 route to Seafield which was also cut
4.Cutting the service frequency from every 30 minutes to 60 minutes
5. and if they don't like any of the options, the Council can cut the 13 entirely.

If you support our campaign to bring back the 13, then contact your Edinburgh City Councillor, your MP, or your MSP now!