In Edinburgh, 777 seems more like 666

BUS LANE STORIES  in the Edinburgh Evening News are like buses themselves.  None come for ages then two or three turn up at once.

Following swiftly on the back of two reports of soaring bus lane fines in the city, Monday’s paper reported on the start of the 7-7-7 bus lane trial through my Craigentinny Duddingston Ward.  That’s 7:00am to 7:00pm seven days a week.  Running from Milton Road to London Road this will be extended in the coming months along the route of the No. 44 bus to Balerno.

Drivers will see this simply as another tyranny from the anti-car Council, but as always with the Council there are unintended consequences for local businesses and residents.  However, the left-wing idealogues on the Transport Committee don’t care.

This is a trial without purpose.  Those pushing it overrode officer views that the bus lanes were just fine and voted it through despite there being no evidence that it would meaningfully help bus times.

Lothian Buses are on record that the bulk of the congestion that delays buses is at junctions, and the bus lanes stop short.  Better traffic management, better managed roadworks and an end to the relentless push for traffic lights everywhere might help more.

For drivers this will mean confusing bus lane hours.  The rest of the city will remain on the harmonised peak hours that only operate Monday to Friday and have been successfully in place since 2015.  I foresee more of those hefty fines and, to add insult to injury, the changes were imposed on Monday before all the new signage was in place.

As with everything in public life, the Council has a duty to consult you on the changes but they are doing that in a sneaky way.  The bus lane changes are an “Experimental traffic Regulation Order” where the consultation takes place after the changes have been made.  Are they likely to ditch it all after the initial six months when it is wasting £282k of your money?

If they really intended to consult, they would ask people up front what they think then solve all the problems before implementation.  Or ditch the scheme as unnecessary and unworkable.

The biggest unintended consequence is for the small traders we all use in our neighbourhoods.  They can no longer legitimately use the times between peak hours for loading at their businesses.  Passing trade will also be severely affected – especially on Saturdays when the bus lanes used to be five days only.

More of that will be discussed when a petition with thousands of signatures collected by businesswoman Nikki Boyd, of Nikki’s Fleurs on Wolesely Place, comes to the next Transport Committee.

But the consequences don’t stop there.  Elderly residents who need carer visits are having their lives forcibly changed.  One set of carers can now only attend a resident at 6:00am to get her up and dressed.

The carers used to arrive at 7:00am and were away before the bus lane started at 7:30am.  An earlier start to bus lanes means an enforced earlier start for those needing care.  It likely also means no second visit, even if needed, before 7:00pm.

You may say the carers shouldn’t come by car but with many visits to make across the city and short times between them that’s not easily possible.

If you don’t like the new bus lane hours.  If they make life more inconvenient.  If you consider they are confusing and unnecessary as you sit in your vehicle in a queue beside empty bus lanes in the middle of the day.  If they have impacted your care arrangements.  If your trade is down, harder to manage or it’s harder to get to customers.  If you don’t like left-wing councillors virtue signalling using £282K of your money. Or any other reason.  Please let the Council know by commenting here on ETRO/26/16 and its 7-7-7 Bus Lane Trial.

The more who do the better.  If there are enough some of them might even listen with an election coming next May.