Lothian Buses have announced further updates to their service timetables from Easter Sunday. The city's travel provider has already been running a reduced timetable during lockdown for key workers across Edinburgh and the Lothians.
The majority of services will see a revised timetable, however some will see extra buses added to ensure travel to all hospitals and medical services is possible.
The 35 route will see an hourly service from Ocean Temrinal to Sighthill on Mondays to Saturdays, allowing access to Holyrood, Chalmers Hospital and the Eye Pavillion at Lauriston Place.
New early morning journeys will be re-timed for the 38, as well as an additional journey introduced at the busiest time between West Granton and the Royal Infirmary.
Later evening journeys will be added on the number 5 service, with the 44 seeing a revised route of Balerno to St Andrews Square and only an hourly service on a Sunday.
Nigel Serafini, Interim Managing Director at Lothian Buses , said:
“Over the last few weeks, we have seen how important our services are for those who are required to travel during this unprecedented time. When we introduced our Critical Services Network under two weeks ago, we asked employers to feedback any concerns from their employees and I am proud that today we can announce the introduction of network changes which will address the majority of these issues and make essential travel easier for those who themselves are working in extremely difficult circumstances.
“Our teams across the business have continued to show their loyalty, dedication and support to their customers and colleagues, working around the clock to provide these vital services. My thanks go to each and every one of them both on the frontline and behind the scenes, and also to our customers who have been incredibly supportive and understanding during this time.”
Council leader Adam McVey said:
“In these extremely challenging times it’s vital services such as Lothian’s keep adapting to make essential travel easier for our key workers.
Taking on board feedback from employers in the city is crucial, these changes reflect what’s now needed in the network, prioritising critical routes. Obviously people are staying at home to help limit the impact of coronavirus but our key workers are providing essential services supporting the city and the people that live here."
Customers can view updated timetables on Lothian’s website and can plan journeys on Lothian’s website or through the Lothian app which offers journey planning tools and real-time service updates, all integrated with Google Maps. It can be downloaded from tfeapp.com.
