What have the SNP got against our buses?

Lothian Buses is being hit by attacks from the SNP government. Those attacks are in sharp contrast to additional support for services in rural areas, run largely by Stagecoach, owned by SNP donor Brian Souter. And they are the reason why city bus fares just went up to £1.40.

The Scottish Government has hit on two fronts. It changed the rules of what’s called the Bus Service Operators Grant so that city buses get a lot less. That grant is now at the lowest level for nine years. It’s also cut the cash it gives Lothian Buses for carrying pensioners for free.

No one in the SNP or the government has explained why Lothian Buses are getting hit like this. Labour persuaded the Council to send an all-party deputation to the minister to see if he’ll back off.

Pedal on Parliament!

I've just signed the Pedal on Parliament petition to be taken to Holyrood by hundreds of cyclists and supporters on 28th April. Here's how they describe their aims:

"Safer cycling and cities fit for people is an important issue for Scotland. Pedal on Parliament will be gathering cyclists (and anyone who wants to join them) from across the nation to cycle on Holyrood to tell our politicians that cycling matters. In February, up to 2000 cyclists gathered in London to cycle on the Westminster Parliament in support of safer cycling and cities fit for people. On April 28th, to coincide with a follow-up ride in London, Pedal on Parliament will be gathering cyclists from across the nation to cycle on Holyrood to tell our politicians that cycling matters. We’re asking everyone who cycles in Scotland – or who would like to cycle, or would like their families to cycle, but who doesn’t feel safe – to join us for a big ride of our own – and a big picnic. Young and old, keen commuter or weekend pedaller, fit or not – you don’t even need to be on a bike. You just need to show up and add your voice to help make Scotland safe for cycling."

You can sign the petition yourself by clicking here. And please consider joining the event on 28th April to promote their excellent 8 point manifesto. Thanks!

Where's Edinburgh's tram inquiry?

Edinburgh needs a modern transport system, but everyone knows the past five years of blunder and delay on the tram project have harmed our city. Two hundred million over budget for half the tram line we expected.

 It’s a managerial and financial disaster and the people of Edinburgh have a right to know what’s gone so badly wrong and why. It can’t be swept under the carpet.

Isn’t it right that we should all learn the lessons so these blunders can’t happen again? So why won’t Alex Salmond commission an inquiry as everyone wants? Has he got something to hide?

The ever-expanding transport policy

A lot of people ask me - what is the Council’s policy on transport then? Well, the basic answer is: huge! We have an awful lot of transport policies and plans. And perhaps that’s part of the problem.

1. Local Transport Strategy 2007 – 2012 (171 pages) It needs urgent replacement – and probably shortening!

2 Transport 2030 Vision. This states that by 2030, Edinburgh’s Transport System will be the greenest, healthiest and most accessible in northern Europe. In the plan, “Greenest” means reducing the impacts of transport thus playing its full part in reducing greenhouse gas emission. “Healthiest” means promoting Active Travel with streets appropriately designed for their functions and an emphasis on encouraging walking, cycling and public transport, supported by a high quality public realm; it also means improving local air quality. “Most accessible” means supporting the economy by providing access to employment, amenities and services; it means being smart and efficient with reliable journey times for people, goods and services; it means being part of a well planned, physically accessible, sustainable city that reduces dependency on car travel; it means having a public transport system and walking and cycling conditions that are safe, secure and comfortable, inclusive, integrated, customer focused, innovative and effectively maintained.

3 Active Travel Plan. This says that walking and cycling meet so many objectives that they deserve to be strongly promoted. They have minimal environmental impact, they are good for health, and they are affordable and sociable. The Active Travel Action Plan (ATAP) sets out to deliver these benefits by enabling more people in Edinburgh to cycle and walk, more safely and more often.

4 The Road Safety Plan for Edinburgh This was launched in May 2010 as a focus for all road safety activity in the city.  The Council is working in partnership with Lothian & Borders Police, NHS Lothian and Lothian & Borders Fire & Rescue Service to encourage safer travel in our city for everyone. At the core of the Road Safety Plan is the vision that the Council and its partners will work towards what’s called “Vision Zero” - the provision of a modern road network where all users are safe from the risk of being killed or seriously injured.

It is therefore not that we do not have enough plans and strategies. But the questions have to be: how well (or badly) does the Council involve the public in having ownership of the plans and strategies? And how well (or badly) does it deliver them?

Take a walk

Here’s something I didn’t know until recently. Over 70,000 Edinburgh citizens live within a 20 minute walk of Princes Street.

So then, when people do want to walk, why can’t we make it a whole lot easier and more pleasant for them? Long waits at pedestrian crossings while traffic speeds past. Dangerous railings around junctions and crossings so you can’t see round the corner to see what’s coming. So many signs, poles, boxes, cluttering up the pavements. So many detours around those railings. And of course, the state of the pavements themselves. It’s time we really made that 20 minute walking area a pedestrian paradise! It would be good for our health and good for our economy as people enjoy being in the Centre more.

Impressed by the cyclists

I really admire the cycling lobby in our city. For years, mainly through Spokes, they’ve argued and lobbied and cajoled the Council and the government about improving things for cyclists. They are always polite and always in command of their facts.

And it’s paid off. Gradually the Council over many years has improved facilities for cyclists – and the number of people cycling has gone up and up. Journeys by bike are now a significant percentage of all journeys.

It shows the power of consistent, courteous and well-argued views.

Car and taxi ban proposal for Waverley

Network Rail have proposed to ban all drop-off and pick up cars and taxis from Waverley Station. They did this without consultation with station users and though they spoke with Council officials, they didn’t tell councillors.

To me this seems like a slap in the face for old people, mums and dads with kids, and disabled people. Where are they going to be set down to get on a train? There’s no room on Princes Street and not much on Waverley Bridge. From Market Street there are either stairs or a long walk. It will really discourage some people from using the train at all.

So I put a motion to the Transport Committee, asking our staff to go and talk with Network Rail to try and find a solution to this. In response, Network Rail have agreed to postpone this plan until the end of 2012, so that talks can take place.

My motion reads like this:

Committee notes with concern the proposed closure of Waverley Station to all vehicles.

Committee notes with regret the absence of any report to this committee regarding this proposal.

Committee further notes:

• the potential consequences of such a move on passengers who are disabled, frail, travelling with young children, travelling with heavy or cumbersome luggage.
• that lorries supplying the retail outlets in the station will continue have access to the station concourse.
• that proposed exits are inadequate and place too much of a burden on surrounding streets to accommodate passenger pick-ups and drop-offs. This will be particularly arduous for families with small children or anyone with mobility difficulties, obliging them to struggle over considerable distances to meet their onward travel connection.
• Waverley will be the only mainline station where elderly people and those with mobility difficulties cannot interchange with their other modes of transport at the same level as the station. The long ramps up to Waverley Bridge are not wheelchair friendly.
• that every year access to the station is restricted for a few hours before the Hogmanay Street Party. This causes great inconvenience to the elderly and disabled. Making this inconvenience the norm is wrong.

Committee believes that the closure of Waverley Station to all vehicles is out of proportion to any perceived security risk and therefore instructs the Director of Transport to enter into urgent negotiations to seek an early and satisfactory resolution to this problem.