In 2023 Lothian Buses’ passenger numbers grew by 17%. This is incredible, and comes after a huge (and ongoing) effort to recruit more drivers. I’d love it if this continued, and we entered an era of exponential growth in public transport use in Edinburgh. It would certainly help us cut congestion, hit net zero, and accommodate the up to 37,000 homes that could be built in Edinburgh in the coming years.

The reality is, however, that the growth in bus use last year was mostly people returning to public transport after the pandemic. Weekends are busier than ever,  but weekday bus travel is still being impacted by some people continuing to work from home.

Indeed, we know that to grow bus patronage we need to make using services more attractive. This is not just about having a modern bus fleet, we need to have the right routes and ensure buses  can move quickly through our city.

This is why I was disappointed that the Scottish Government “paused” funding bus priority schemes which would have allow buses to cut through congestion.

Right now buses are too often held up in congestion,  and those who are able to afford a car end up driving because it is faster. Of course, in a true Catch-22, those people end up making congestion worse. People living in every from Balerno to Fairmilehead will be familiar with this situation.

This situation is why the Council intends to trial “7-7-7 Bus Lanes” before the end of the year along the 44 route (between Balerno and Musselburgh). The aim being to improve bus journey times and reliability by moving the existing bus lanes to 7am to 7pm operation 7 days per week. This should benefit bus passengers along the route (inc those in my Ward).

If this works, it will be rolled out city-wide – and perhaps we really will enter an era of exponential growth in public transport use in Edinburgh.