Why we need to test new bus lane times
We need our streets to work efficiently so that people can move around the city more easily by bus, making it a better option than using a car.
We are now seeing longer and less reliable journey times throughout weekdays, particularly ahead of the evening peak, and across much of the day at weekends. This is driven by changing travel patterns, including increased home working and higher levels of weekend leisure travel.
As Edinburgh's population continues to grow, demand for bus services is expected to increase. Since many of the city's bus lanes were first introduced in 1997, the population has grown by around 20%.
Lothian Buses has identified Service 44 as one of the services most affected by delays and reliability issues outside the current bus lane operating hours.
The route is also used by other bus services, including the 4, 5, 15, 26, 45, 106, 113, 124, X4, X5 and X7.
We often see delays when bus lanes are not operating because vehicles are parked or loading in the lanes.
While walking and cycling are great options for some, they aren't for everyone, and the bus is more suitable, easier and quicker for many people.
Background to bus lanes in Edinburgh
Before 2015, many bus lanes across the city operated either 7.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday or 24 hours a day.
In 2015 bus lanes times were converted to peak hour operation and limited to weekdays only. This has had an impact on bus journey times and reliability and a trial was suggested of a route between Balerno and Musselburgh to see how we could address this.
We have since been decided to carry out a trial between Milton Road East to London Road. Depending on the outcomes of the trial, we will consider the remaining section of the route between Haymarket and Balerno for any changes to bus lane operating hours.
In October 2023, councillors were presented findings from the “Actions to Deliver Edinburgh’s City Mobility Plan” consultation. This showed that respondents to the online survey (52%) and market research (63%) supported reduced parking on main roads to give more space for walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport.
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Download a pdf document of the Integrated Impact Assessment that was carried out before the trial.
Please note these pdfs are not accessible. If you need help with reading them, please email the project team.