Edinburgh buses: New bus service for Dumbiedykes could be up and running by summer

One of Edinburgh's most deprived communities could have a bus service restored by the summer.

Dumbiedykes, just a stone's throw from the Royal Mile, is currently one of the Capital's cut-off communities, without any regular bus service. But an extra £240,000 was set aside in the city council budget, passed last week, for subsidised buses to serve the estate and also the Lady Nairne area of Northfield.

And now the council has begun work on designing the new routes and launched the tendering process to renew contracts for the existing supported bus services providing vital links for Ratho and other communities in rural west Edinburgh. The budget also allocated £300,000 to improve these existing services.

Transport convener Scott Arthur said: "It's really important to get Dumbiedykes connected.  Edinburgh has a fantastic bus service, but if you live in Dumbiedykes, which is just at the edge of the city centre, you probably get angry every time you hear that because you've no bus service."

Designing the Dumbiedykes service, engaging with residents over the plans and then tendering for it will take time, but the council said if all goes smoothly the new service could be up and running by the summer.

Lothian Buses withdrew the No 6 service serving Dumbiedykes in 2020, but more recently residents were able to use the No 35 while it was diverted along Holyrood Road during resurfacing of the Royal Mile. When the No 35 returned to its normal route in 2022, residents called for a new bus service, saying they had to struggle up what they call "Oxygen Brae" to reach shops and other services in the Pleasance and the Southside.

Cllr Arthur said: "We talk a lot about inequality around income, but there is an inequality in Edinburgh around access to transport. There are parts of the city that are just not well-connected. That's why these supported bus services are so important."

He said the bus for Dumbiedykes was likely to be a smaller vehicle, probably as 16-seater, due to the street layout, and would be fully wheelchair accessible.

He said he hoped the extra cash - added to the budget as part of the negotiations with Lib Dems and Tories for their support - would not only help the communities in Dumbiedykes and Lady Nairne, but also ensure better services for Ratho and other communities in west Edinburgh.

The business bulletin for next week's transport committee notes that a request from the Ratho Bus User Group that an existing commercial service should be redirected from the A71 to serve Ratho has not met with a positive response from the operators.

However, the tendering process invites alternative bids, allowing operators to submit options which may be good value and work efficiently with the resources they have available.

Cr Arthur said: "We have the specification set up, but we're also giving bus operators the chance if they want to adapt what we're suggesting. For some of these routes - and Dumbiedykes may be one of them - we're hopeful we can get it into state where it is more or completely financially viable in its own right rather than having to rely on an ongoing subsidy."