Colin Beattie MSP Welcomes New Bus Service Connecting Rosewell with Royal Infirmary

​Colin Beattie MSP for Midlothian North has welcomed the introduction of a new Lothian Buses service connecting Rosewell with the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, alongside timetable changes designed to improve connections for residents in Rosewell and Bonnyrigg.
 
The service 7 timetable is being revised to improve links to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh increasing the Monday to Saturday daytime service to every 15 minutes enabling more connection opportunities with the service 31.
 
The service 31 timetable is also being revised to provide connections with service 140 in Bonnyrigg to Dalkeith.
 
Lothian Buses are also creating a new service 39A between Rosewell and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in the early morning with a corresponding return journey later in the evening. This service is only possible thanks to funding from SEStrans which was secured by Midlothian Council.
 
Commenting Colin Beattie MSP said:
 
"I shared the concern of residents when Lothian Buses announced the removal of the 46 and re-routing of the 48 service. A major concern was the removal of a direct link between Bonnyrigg and the Royal Infirmary and while these new services are not a direct replacement, they are a welcome step towards addressing the concerns raised.
 
"Since the removal of these services were announced I have attempted to work with Lothian Buses and the major shareholders and I was severely disappointed Lothian Buses declined to attend this meeting.
 
"The new 39A service, although only temporary at present, has been delivered with the involvement of Midlothian Council and SEStran, helping to ensure that this essential bus service is available to the communities that rely on it I would encourage any residents who plan to use the new 39A service or the revised timetable make their thoughts known to Lothian Buses on both the positives and negatives of the changes.
 
"I will continue to listen to residents and I am interested to hear how these changes will work for you in practice. It is essential that Lothian Buses assess their effectiveness at alleviating the impacts of the removal and rerouting of the 46 and 48."
 
ENDS