Lothian Buses

Details a brief history of Edinburgh City transport including changes of operating company incurred by Government policy.

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The city of Edinburgh has always been innovative in its provision of transport ranging from the end of the 19th century when it leased land for the creation of a cable tramway network through operating the same when the lease ended in June 1919 to the current era when it trials a range of vehicles as it seeks to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2030.

The company’s maintenance standards are sufficiently high that after 15 years of daily service withdrawn vehicles are valued by the second hand vehicle market and continue in further service with operators for a number of years before being scrapped. Whilst 15 years is the normal working life with the company, this is being shortened as new vehicles are introduced to meet the zero carbon commitment. These changes have increased between 2011 and 2022 and the book illustrates them by photographs of the transport fleets – both buses and trams - operated during that period of change.

The operator tries to remain loyal to one supplier but changes within the industry have resulted in a number of different vehicles being purchased; the rationale of the change in supplier is documented as the company returns to previous suppliers.

The local transport scene has also seen services disrupted as operators providing services from outside the city boundaries have discontinued services leading to the city operator creating subsidiary companies to provide replacement services. These operate buses initially operated by the city fleet albeit adopting different livery styles that identify their relationship to the city’s transport network.