Reply from Lothian Buses
It appears that Lothian Buses will not take up our invitation to attend tonight’s Community Council meeting. Discussion of the matter will remain on the agenda however, as we continue to collect the views of the local community on the bus route changes. If you wish to attend the meeting, please email contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk to get the link.
We have however today received the following letter, in response to the letter we sent last week (see below). Please feel free to add any comments you may have below, and we will collect these and forward to Lothian in due course.
29.08.22
From from Gaynor Marshall, Communications Director of Lothian Buses
Thank you for taking the time to write to Lothian.
As we recover from the impact of the pandemic, we acknowledge that there have been fundamental shifts in societal working trends and corresponding shifts in travel patterns. It is critical that Lothian continue to review and adapt your bus network to reflect current travel habits, match supply and demand and maintain commercially viable services to allow us to deliver a service for all of our customers.
As we move toward the cessation of Scottish Government financial support in the autumn it is vital that we stabilise our network and form a solid foundation on which to base our next steps in economic recovery. With these challenges in mind, it might be helpful for us to provide some background around the process for the changes in Lochend, Restalrig and Leith Links.
With regard to Leith Links, the situation back in November 2019 was that the 12 had been diverted away from Leith Links due to the closure of Constitution Street as part of the tram project construction. This left service 1 which had been operating a one way loop via the Links since the removal of the roundabout at the foot of Easter Road. As part of the next round of closures in the Leith area that were planned to be put in place from Spring 2020 most bus services were planned to be diverted or altered. For Leith Links this would have seen service 1 extend to Seafield via Vanburgh Place/East Hermitage Place to replace then service 12, which was curtailed in the city centre. Immediately prior to this change the Coronavirus pandemic broke out and the city’s bus network was hastily adapted to run as a skeleton service during the initial lockdown period. Subsequently the Spaces for People project closed a number of roads in the Leith Links area which prevented any bus route from operating across the Links.
Service 12 was not ‘summarily removed’ from Leith, the original and indeed Final Business Cases for the Tram project have always assumed that service 12 (along with service 22) would no longer operate via Leith Walk and would be curtailed to the city centre. The northbound closure of Leith Walk from Spring 2020 led us to anticipate a significant reduction in demand for bus travel based on our experience with previous longer term closures for tram related works on Leith Walk. As a result a number of changes were implemented to reduce excess capacity and reduced costs which included curtailing service 12 at the start of the project rather than on the introduction of trams in service.
When looking at reinstating a bus service across Leith Links we were faced with the lack of additional resources and a need to not increase operating costs, whilst at the same time remaining cognisant of the need to retain as many existing bus links as possible. The only option to serve Leith Links under these circumstances was to re-route service 34 between Sleigh Drive roundabout and Ocean Terminal. In order to provide a reasonable journey time (please see below) the new route would be via Restalrig Road the Links Gardens, Bernard Street and Commercial Street. This led us to consider the provision of buses on both Restalrig Road, Lochend Road, East Hermitage Place which have links to Leith Walk and the city centre. By swapping both pairs of services (34 49 to Restalrig and 21 25 to Lochend) both corridors retain their links to the city centre (25 and 34) and to Leith Walk (25 and 49) and to, whilst services 1 and 49 provide the same links on East Hermitage Place.
Journey times to and from the city centre will change slightly with most journeys being timetable to be quicker. Current journey times and new journey times are shown below along with a comparison with service 12 for Leith Links from 2019.
| 12 (2019) | 25 (current) | 25 (new) | 34 (current) | 34 (new) | |
| Leith Links to Leith Street/York Place | 18 minutes | 17 minutes | |||
| Restalrig Road to Leith Street | 18 minutes | 15 minutes | |||
| Lochend Road to Leith Street | 13 minutes | 16 minutes |
Lastly, regarding a link from the Leith area to the Western General Hospital, we understand the continuing desire for such a link, and indeed would be supportive of such an initiative in the medium to longer term, however given current pressures we are unable to commit to such a service at this time.
I hope that this gives a bit more background information and context.
Lothian is absolutely committed to delivering for our customers and I know the significant role we play in a sense of community I appreciate and acknowledge all that you state and I’m sorry that these changes have caused concern amongst some of your constituents. However the (harsh) reality as previously mentioned is that as we move toward the cessation of Scottish Government financial support in the Autumn it is vital that Lothian take the necessary steps to stabilise our network and form a solid foundation on which to base our wider economic recovery.
Gaynor Marshall
Communications Director
***
From Leith Links Community Council, 22.08.22
Dear Sirs
I am writing on behalf of Leith Links Community Council, with regard to the imminent proposed changes to bus services in our area.
As you are aware, we have been campaigning for a new bus service to run through Leith Links to serve the large population in the growing number of new housing developments on the north side of the Links. We were looking for a new service, to replace the No. 12 service that was summarily removed a couple of years ago. We were NOT looking for a revamp of several well-established and well-used bus services in the wider area beyond the Links – that, while it could benefit some residents (nearest to the Links), could significantly disadvantage many others in our community (residents along the Restalrig Road and Lochend Road corridors).
In the discussions we have had most recently, with Ian Bieniowski and later John White, and Ben Ritchie, we were led to believe that prior to a new service being, hopefully, introduced in due course, Lothian Buses would continue holding discussions with the community, as regards the needs of local people. Also we were expecting to see proposals that would be presented with a view of how local bus routes are expected to link to / work with the tram service, and with some data on actual and projected usage, and catchment area, including the catchment numbers still to be built along Seafield Road.
So while we appreciate that Lothian Buses has, in one sense, ‘listened’ and been willing to act promptly, we are however very disappointed, that you have autocratically introduced sweeping changes without any consultation with the local community, and with no transparency, or presentation/communication of evidence. Also with very little notice and a lack of information about the existing and proposed new frequency of the relevant services.
Can we meet as soon as possible, please, to discuss this? And please will you send a representative to our next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council, which will be online on Monday 29 August at 6:30 pm, to explain the proposed changes and to answer questions? That meeting will be open to the public.
The immediate response to the proposed changes from our local community has been mostly negative, as far as we can establish so far. (Our efforts at consultation will continue.)
On the positive side, a bus running through the Links, and access to Aldi and Ocean Terminal, will be welcome, so thank you for that. But overall the 34 is probably the least popular bus that could possibly have been chosen, as it is relatively infrequent and a very slow route into town because it follows a circuitous route. Therefore it is perhaps not likely to attract much of a ridership going south into town (which may be used as an excuse to later axe it again…?). However the wholesale swapping over of Lochend Road buses with Restalrig Road buses has met with some horrified hostility. Why is this necessary? The 25 and 21 are both much needed routes, well-used by residents around the Links as well as further up Restalrig Road, and losing those is a very high cost for the local population.
This is not just a minor adjustment, though it may look like that to fit young people sat in front of a big map onscreen. On the ground, in real life, the distance between Restalrig Road and Lochend Road is too far to ‘just walk through’ for older and less able people. People adapt and develop their lives – and often make momentous decisions about their jobs, and house purchases – around the bus services that are available to them. Sudden changes to bus services can be traumatic and life changing. Also, having to take two buses instead of one can be unaffordable for many, especially in the current cost of living crisis.
The changes you are proposing (swapping 25 & 21, for 34 & 49 which, aside from their routes, are both less frequent services), seem to be maximally disruptive to both local communities (Restalrig Road and Lochend Road) without actually addressing any of the other main issues with bus services in Leith (no bus to Western General, concern over the loss of the No. 22, traffic congestion in Great Junction Street etc.).
We look forward to hearing from you, urgently, on this matter.
Sally Millar, Secretary
On behalf of Jim Scanlon MBE, Chair
Leith Links Community Council
Cc
Scott Arthur, Transport for Edinburgh, Convener, Transport & Environment Committee
Elected Councillors
(Ward 13) Booth, Faccienda, McVey
(Ward 14) Aston, Griffiths, Staniforth, Whyte