The good people behind RELBUS recently wrote to Lothian Bus with a number of concerns over the new 113 route to Ormiston & Pencaitland.
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Rural East Lothian Bus Users wrote to the bus company welcoming the new service but sought reassurance on a number of issues. RELBUS was curious exactly why it was deemed necessary to create the East Lothian Buses brand, discovering that:
“The operating name of ELB is a trading name to reflect the operating area of this service and hopefully it will develop brand loyalty.”
RELBUS and a number of residents of the villages now on the 113 route had wondered if the brand was simply a means of differentiating the new fare structure which sees bus users living in Ormiston and Pencaitland paying £1.50 more per day ticket than people traveling between Tranent and Edinburgh. Could it also make it easier for Lothian Bus to walk away from the route in the future?
“It is not our intention to instigate the 113 on such a short term basis that it will not be given every opportunity to prove its sustainability as you fear based on previous experience with other operators.”
On the positive side, as a trading name, and not a separately run subsidiary, this would suggest running costs will be shared across the whole of Lothian Bus’s business.
Fare structure was another key concern. Distances between Edinburgh city centre and Pencaitland/Ormiston are roughly the same to distances between routes from the city to towns and villages in Mid Lothian operated by Lothian Bus. The company said:
“Regarding the fare structure this is a wholly commercial decision and is intended to make the service viable allowing for the low passenger volumes beyond Tranent. While the fares are higher than on our main network they are still some 33 percent lower than those of the previous operator and, in addition, allow travelers to access our full network without additional cost which would, in fact, have been an additional cost beyond the present discount.”
However, this does miss the argument that creating a price differential over this relatively short further stretch from Tranent may discourage people from Pencaitland and Ormiston from using the bus. Instead, people may opt to drive their cars to Tranent, park in suburban side streets and catch the bus into town from there.
As RELBUS points out:
“The benefits of single fare structures are very clear where these operate. It should be remembered that the benefits are extended not just to the residents of the rural communities served, but to those who wish to travel there to see friends or enjoy the countryside. Or indeed so that carers can reach their destination.”
If you have used/are using the new 113 bus service please let us know what you think of it so far and leave a comment below.
BUS SURVEY:
Pencaitland has joined forces with Humbie, East & West Saltoun and Bolton, Gifford and Ormiston Community Councils to find out what you want from the bus service. Register your views online now.
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Pencaitland Community Council
Not one for idle gossip, I was over in Ormiston last week and saw the 113 being trailed by an East Lothian Buses liveried minibus (one of those 12 seaters I think).
I thought nothing of it at the time as I was assuming it was some sort of time and motion study being carried out by Lothian Bus.
However, chatting to a regular at the bus stop in Pencaitland this morning I was told that this minibus is in fact shadowing the new 113 on its route as the buses allocated by Lothian (and liveried as East Lothian Buses) broke down twice last week.
In one incident last week everyone on the bus piled out of the broken down double-decker and into the minibus.
That’s a fairly inauspicious start. Let’s hope it’s not an omen for the future.
The commuter I chatted to suggested this was because the buses, whilst very nice inside in comparison to First’s fleet, are still not the newest of the Lothian Bus fleet and are thus more prone to breakdown.
R.