Coronavirus crisis must not be used as cover to scrap vital services like this one – Angus Robertson

While the world is turning its head as we confront the risks of coronavirus, there are other challenges out there – which may seem mundane to some, but are literally a lifeline service for others.

In Lothian, we are blessed to have excellent public transport, with a ­network of bus routes and level of ­service others are envious of, but when you risk losing the link entirely you realise how dependent you are.

Residents in Dumbiedykes at the foot of Holyrood Road are up in arms about the threatened loss of their lifeline No 6 service, which connects the area with the centre of town. Lothian buses have announced that they are to axe the service from 29 March, which connects Dumbiedykes to Hanover Street.

Their shock move comes without any consultation with the community. No wonder the Dumbiedykes Residents Association has rallied support from the local community and across the city. A spokesperson said: “Without consultation publicly owned Lothian Buses has left our community without a bus, abandoning the most vulnerable citizens. To access basic services like doctors, dentist, chemist, post office, residents have to leave Dumbiedykes. Following previous council cuts even the community shop is shut. Without a bus anyone with mobility issues is left isolated.”

Despite being an area with a strong sense of community, it is also a part of town which suffers from economic and social deprivation, with higher than average levels of unemployment, low income and associated challenges for people who live in the area below Salisbury Crags.

Quite why Lothian Buses thought that this was a sensible idea is a ­mystery. They didn’t even bother to attend the recent meeting of local residents held in the Braidwood ­Centre. With the only alternative service offered by the No 35, which happens to be the first to be cancelled or diverted because of events on the Royal Mile, it is the cancellation of a lifeline service.

Lothian Buses is the UK’s largest municipal transport operator and it says on its website that it is tremendously proud of their ownership by the City of Edinburgh and neighbouring Lothian councils. It says that Lothian “really is the people’s bus company but we are much more”.

The statistics are very impressive – annual revenues of more than £160 million, scores of new vehicles adding to a fleet of more than 850 vehicles, more than 120 million passengers a year, covering more than half a ­million miles every week – that’s further than to the moon and back.

Given all of that and a host of awards over the years including Bus Operator of the Year, Public Transport Operator of the Year, Best UK Bus Company, Scotland’s Best Bus Company and Top City Operator of the Year, why are Lothian Buses cutting the lifeline service to one of the cities’ deprived communities without any consultation?

It is just not good enough, it is not justified and must be reconsidered.

The coronavirus crisis is causing us all to concentrate on our health and reduce risks for ourselves, our families and friends and everyone else in the community.

It is not, however, an excuse for the likes of Lothian Buses to plough on regardless and hope that nobody notices.

Please use the opportunity to rethink a deeply flawed decision and support the people of Dumbiedykes.