Last week, due to unforeseen drainage pipe issues, the junction between Forrest Road and George IV Bridge was closed for roadworks. Situated right in the centre of Edinburgh, these roadworks have not only impacted the popular tourist attractions in the area—Greyfriars Kirkyard and the National Museum of Scotland—but also the six bus routes that go through the junction. In response, Lothian Buses continues to run all six services (the 2, 9, 23, 27, 35, and 45) as normal, diverting them through Bristo Place, Nicolson Square, or Lauriston Place.
The spontaneity of this incident brings to light a part of life that many University of Edinburgh students don’t consider deeply: roadworks and the Lothian Buses network.
While we’ve all been faced with the monstrosity of North Bridge and the viral spread of scaffolding, it seems that most students forget about it until it affects them directly. This exact situation happened to me when the Forrest Road roadworks popped up. As an avid bus-45 passenger, it was a strange sight to see the Bus & Tram app display the 45 under its active alerts, and even stranger to see that the six Forrest Road services were experiencing delays. Similarly to when my street was being repaved late last year, I felt an annoyance that I could no longer completely rely on my usual buses to get me where I needed to go; after all, Edinburgh is quite big for a small city.
That’s also what I keep hearing from my fellow students. Whenever buses are mentioned, it’s always negative. At this point, I’ve heard one too many complaints about late buses, unexpected diversions, and malfunctions with bus tracking. However, have any of us actually stopped to think about how good the buses actually are?
Edinburgh is a difficult city to navigate. Due to congestion problems, lower speed limits, and roadworks, slow road travel through the city is a given. However, Lothian Buses continue to be reliable, with longer delays past five minutes being pretty rare. With roadworks specifically, such as this Forrest Road closure, the bus network has proven its adaptability. Services usually run at the same times and frequencies during diversions, revealing the level of preparation and care taken by the network so that passengers can ride the bus as if nothing was wrong in the first place. Communication also seems to be a strong suit here, with multiple different avenues by which Lothian Buses can communicate delays, diversions, and other updates; live tracking can even be found on the Bus & Tram app. Finally, for many of us, buses are free. This alone is huge, but in the context of the well-organised machine that is the bus network, it is an incredible privilege that we have as students.
In the case of the Forrest Road closure, this meant that after my first ride on the 45 after Monday 2nd March, I realised that my bus commute was relatively unchanged. The new route wasn’t much longer and ran on time. I’ve found that as a whole, with the junction still accessible for pedestrians and businesses still open, the closure won’t be as detrimental as it seems at first glance.
Unfortunately, roadworks in Edinburgh will continue to be a problem. I can walk North Bridge believing that it’s almost done, but the fact is that it’s not, and our old yet charming city will continue to try to interrupt our daily routines with construction. However, as I mentioned earlier, there are reasons why we find ourselves trivialising roadworks, and while some part of it is due to their consistent presence in our lives, it is reliable public services like Lothian Buses that are the real reason why we don’t feel the true impacts of these daily inconveniences.
Photo by Mark Chan for The Student.
Related
Despite the Forrest Road Closure, Lothian Buses Persist
Last week, due to unforeseen drainage pipe issues, the junction between Forrest Road and George IV Bridge was closed for roadworks. Situated right in the centre of Edinburgh, these roadworks have not only impacted the popular tourist attractions in the area—Greyfriars Kirkyard and the National Museum of Scotland—but also the six bus routes that go through the junction. In response, Lothian Buses continues to run all six services (the 2, 9, 23, 27, 35, and 45) as normal, diverting them through Bristo Place, Nicolson Square, or Lauriston Place.
The spontaneity of this incident brings to light a part of life that many University of Edinburgh students don’t consider deeply: roadworks and the Lothian Buses network.
While we’ve all been faced with the monstrosity of North Bridge and the viral spread of scaffolding, it seems that most students forget about it until it affects them directly. This exact situation happened to me when the Forrest Road roadworks popped up. As an avid bus-45 passenger, it was a strange sight to see the Bus & Tram app display the 45 under its active alerts, and even stranger to see that the six Forrest Road services were experiencing delays. Similarly to when my street was being repaved late last year, I felt an annoyance that I could no longer completely rely on my usual buses to get me where I needed to go; after all, Edinburgh is quite big for a small city.
That’s also what I keep hearing from my fellow students. Whenever buses are mentioned, it’s always negative. At this point, I’ve heard one too many complaints about late buses, unexpected diversions, and malfunctions with bus tracking. However, have any of us actually stopped to think about how good the buses actually are?
Edinburgh is a difficult city to navigate. Due to congestion problems, lower speed limits, and roadworks, slow road travel through the city is a given. However, Lothian Buses continue to be reliable, with longer delays past five minutes being pretty rare. With roadworks specifically, such as this Forrest Road closure, the bus network has proven its adaptability. Services usually run at the same times and frequencies during diversions, revealing the level of preparation and care taken by the network so that passengers can ride the bus as if nothing was wrong in the first place. Communication also seems to be a strong suit here, with multiple different avenues by which Lothian Buses can communicate delays, diversions, and other updates; live tracking can even be found on the Bus & Tram app. Finally, for many of us, buses are free. This alone is huge, but in the context of the well-organised machine that is the bus network, it is an incredible privilege that we have as students.
In the case of the Forrest Road closure, this meant that after my first ride on the 45 after Monday 2nd March, I realised that my bus commute was relatively unchanged. The new route wasn’t much longer and ran on time. I’ve found that as a whole, with the junction still accessible for pedestrians and businesses still open, the closure won’t be as detrimental as it seems at first glance.
Unfortunately, roadworks in Edinburgh will continue to be a problem. I can walk North Bridge believing that it’s almost done, but the fact is that it’s not, and our old yet charming city will continue to try to interrupt our daily routines with construction. However, as I mentioned earlier, there are reasons why we find ourselves trivialising roadworks, and while some part of it is due to their consistent presence in our lives, it is reliable public services like Lothian Buses that are the real reason why we don’t feel the true impacts of these daily inconveniences.
Photo by Mark Chan for The Student.
Share this:
Like this:
Related