Monday August 24th 2026
Lothian Bus
Reader Dean Wight writes a letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Our communities, across Edinburgh and the Lothians, should be all celebrating the fact we have the largest and best operated municipal bus company in the UK but unfortunately we are all on the receiving end of Lothian Buses contempt with their pursuit and drive for profit along with their inability to provide improved services for us all.
Last March, our local councillors were rightly celebrating an improvement for the local community of our 46 bus service yet less than a year later the silence was deafening from the same councillors when Lothian Buses declared the withdrawal of the service ignoring the concerns of the local community shown with their MP’s organised petition.
It was great to see last Thursday, in Liam Eunson’s article, that despite 6 months of campaigning at least our MP intends to continue the fight for the reinstatement of the 46 route and the re-routing of the 48.
We need Lothian Buses to have a consultation policy introduced into their governance but unfortunately, during councillors past and recent discussions about the governance of Lothian Buses and their policies , none of our councillors apparently thought of giving local communities the right to be consulted before the withdrawal of any major route in their community. Even now they appear to be refusing to contemplate introducing any such consultation measure for Lothian Buses, a company owned by all of us.
Since April 2025 we have seen Lothian Buses increase fares by 20% and withdraw direct access service routes for two large local communities, last April the 26 and 44 Tranent to Portobello routes, this February with the 46 Rosewell / Bonnyrigg to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Musselburgh. These withdrawals, all affecting thousands of residents, decided without consultation or impact assessment on their respective communities and with Lothian Buses ignoring the public petitions against their ill thought out, profit seeking changes. Not changes for viability but changes for profit.
Thanks to Midlothian View reporting we have seen that during this time Midlothian Council have introduced a computer software mapping program, presumably to save money, excluding children from receiving transport to and from school, yet happy to throw taxpayers cash at Lothian Buses to provide a severely limited service that was previously provided regularly by the same Lothian Buses less than six months previously.
We also have had a local MSP, in her monthly column, rightly pointing out the importance of bus travel and the cost of living crisis to our communities but calling on the Scottish Government to cap fares at £2, apparently only too happy to give bus companies more taxpayers cash than they are already getting, rather than calling on the UK Government to repeal the 1985 Transport Act introduced by the Thatcher Government to all our detriment.
I have come to truly despair over our democracy, both locally and nationally, along with it’s inherent failings yet next year brings us the local council elections and I for one will exercise my democratic right to vote for change and hopefully not for more of the same,
Regards,
Dean Wight.
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