A petition to bring a coastal bus route between Edinburgh and East Lothian has amassed thousands of signatures, as locals raise complaints about lack of connectivity around the city’s borders.
Since its launch in December 2024, almost 4,300 verified signatures have been added to the petition on Change.Org.
As part of its demands, the petition requests the City of Edinburgh Council to implement “dedicated and frequent bus routes to serve coastal communities.”
It adds: “The lack of direct coastal bus routes in Edinburgh forces passengers to rely on indirect routes and multiple transfers going into and out-of the city.
“This makes journeys unnecessarily long and discourages sustainable travel between these vibrant communities.”
Lothian Buses Photo: www.martinmcadam.com
Petition starter, Emily, who has asked that her last name be omitted for personal reasons, began campaigning after moving to Musselburgh from Leith to alleviate housings costs.
Like others in the area, Emily found a significant issue in connecting to the city without a car.
She said: “If you choose to take the bus into Leith, it can take 1 hour and 20 minutes, whereas going by car is only 13 minutes.
“It is hard to justify the time.”
The petition requests two different routes, with one between Leith and Musselburgh and the other between Leith and Cramond.
Emily said she hopes that “ideally there would be a coastal bus service in place every half hour, which could even be a limited bus stop service.”
Among the hotspots that Emily believes should be prioritised by a theoretical route would be Musselburgh North High Street, Musselburgh High Street, Balerno, the East Lothian Crematorium, Great Junction Street, as well as the bottom of Easter Road.
A commenter said: “Have contacted Lothian Buses, East Lothian council and my MSP about this but have so far gotten nowhere so fingers crossed this gets listened to.
“Such an obvious huge gap in the service given how each area has boomed in the last 5-10 years. Leith, Porty and Musselburgh should be better connected.
“No one who actually lives along this route wants to go into town and Princes St, let alone have to get two buses and spend over an hour travelling what is a 20min car and 30min cycle journey.”
Another commenter on the petition also alleged to have a previously contacted Lothian Buses about the petition’s goals, “but got a No.”
Emily said: “Many think that public transport is only for commuting, but it is also used for leisure and for connecting communities.
She added: “But not everybody wants to go into the city.”
The City of Edinburgh Council has been contacted for comment.
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