Saturday 26th October 2024
Three of Britain’s bus routes numbered 100 serve airports. We’ve already ridden Metrobus’s Crawley to Redhill via Gatwick Airport and Arriva’s Stevenage to Luton via Luton Airport, and this latest review features the third – and one aimed specifically at serving the airport market; in Edinburgh.
Lothian Buses operates three routes (there’s a 200 and 400 too) linking Edinburgh Airport with different parts of the City but route 100 is the longest established of the trio and connects the airport right to the heart of the city centre in just 30 minutes.
The route operates round the clock with a frequency as high as every 7-8 minutes as early as 04:30 reducing to every 10 minutes during a more traditional morning peak period until mid morning when it improves again to every nine minutes for the rest of the day and night only easing back to every 10 minutes for a time in mid evening with a 20 minute frequency in the middle of the night. Frequencies are tweaked downwards very slightly at certain times of the day on Sundays but it’s a very intensive service.
Since January of this year it’s also been subjected to intense like-for-like competition with McGills using its Bright Bus brand, inherited with the purchase of First Bus operations in the area, to run a similar service between the airport and city centre called Airport Express and designated AIRX.
Whereas Lothian charges £5.50 single and £8 for an open return, Bright Bus’s Airport Express is cheaper at £4.50 single and £7 return. It also offers a £20 weekly ticket aimed at airport staff.
For quite a long time Lothian’s busy departure point from Waverley Bridge alongside Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station was out of bounds for buses…
… but they returned from the end of June so both Airlink 100 and Airport Express pick up from the same bus stop.
At the airport Lothian has the prime departure spot (stance A) right by the exit from the busy passageway leading from Arrivals…
… whereas Airport Express is on stance F which is not so well signposted to passengers arriving on flights, although is at the same stop as departing airline passengers are set down, and where McGills Xplore Dundee coaches on the Dundee Flyer depart…
… although ironically one of the two bus shelters at this point has promotional posters for Airlink.
My observations showed Lothian has retained a large market share with impressive numbers of passenger queuing to board Airlink 100 buses along with ‘pavement conductors’ issuing tickets to speed boarding.
Over at stance F Bright Bus also has bright coloured uniformed staff giving advice and information to passengers.
The same brightly coloured staff from both companies can be found on Waverley Bridge where they’re also promoting the competing sightseeing tours.
A fleet of five year old tri-axle dual door Volvo E400XLB buses with high back comfortable seats…
… including a large luggage rack on the lower deck….
… can be found on Airlink, giving a very imposing presence at the terminal points and on the road.
The one downside of catching an Airlink 100 from the airport is the lack of a shelter immediately by the bus stop but on my visit earlier this month that was being attended to with a new departure stance and shelter being installed which I’m sure will be high profile to attract passengers.
I suspect Bright Bus has carved out a satisfactory share of the large Edinburgh Airport travel market and there’s probably room for both operators, but there’s no doubt Lothian is the market leader with not only Airlink 100 and its impressive buses and numbers travelling but also its trams and Skylink 200 and 400 bus routes.
Roger French
Did you catch the other twenty-one ‘Every route 100’ blogs so far? Here’s 1 of 26 (Stevenage-Luton) 2 of 26 (Crawley-Redhill), 3 of 26 (Lincoln-Scunthorpe), 4 of 26 (Glasgow-Riverside Museum), 5 of 26 (Campbeltown local), 6 of 26 (Guildford’s Onslow Park & Ride), 7 of 26 (Warrington-Manchester), 8 of 26 Chatham-St Mary’s Island, 9 of 26 St Paul’s-Wapping, 10 of 26 Syston-Melton Mowbray, 11 of 26 Wellington-Telford Sutton Hill, 12 of 26 Hanley-Stone, 13 of 26 Burgess Hill-Horsham, 14 of 26 Aylesbury-Milton Keynes, 15 Pontypridd-Royal Glamorgan Hospital, 16 Barry circular, 17 Farringdon Park-Larches (Preston), 18 Hastings Conquest Hospital-New Romney, 19 Morecambe-Lancaster University, 20 Wakefield-Eastmoor, 21 Clydebank Parkhall-Linnvale.
Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS with a Su extra Book Review blog tomorrow.
Comments on today’s blog are welcome but please keep them relevant to the blog topic, avoid personal insults and add your name (or an identifier). Thank you.
BusAndTrainUser 
I do hope the competing bus drivers keep a respectful attitude to one another. When I was in Edinburgh in the early years of bus deregulation I witnessed (as a passenger) a punch-up between two drivers, one LRT and the other driving a green bus – I can’t remember the operator name.
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The green bus was probably Eastern Scottish.
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Airlink is an excellent service which I’ve used many times but not just to travel to the Airport. Far from just being a bus to the airport it operates limited stop in the western suburbs providing support to services 26 and 31.
These MMC Enviros have the excellent two screen next stop information shown in excellent contrast with connections. One of the screens also shows flight departures in its cycle of information.
Airlink accepts travelcards (Ridacard) weekly priced £22 at all times including the night service. This ticket is also valid on all Lothian Buses and the tram.
There is a Network day ticket valid on the service that covers all Lothian Buses business units that can be bought on any bus that is publicised on every Lothian bus stop panel.
Woe betide anyone who places their Ridacard face down, it will checked to see it’s you complete with the wooly hat too in my case.
After losing my Ridacard I walked in Waverley Travel Centre. The helpful Assistant behind desk told me the road and suburb I live in when asked my Date of Birth. Do you want the same picture as before and presumably travel too. Yes please and for one week was my reply. All done in 30 seconds.
Lothian Buses worthy winner of NTA UK Bus Operator of the Year.
John Nicholas
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I traveled on the 100 last year, pre competition, and it was just as impressive. The point being that the pavement staff and high profile promotion of the service has not just arisen as a response to McGills.
Of course, they were and are competing with the tram which also has high profile – a ticket office that looks like a carriage. The 100 was priced just below the tram, but then again, I don’t know how well payment enforcement works on the tram. On so many tram systems, in Europe especially, it’s effectively free.
Finally, I can’t talk about LRT without saying that, in my few days in Edinburgh, where I used buses exclusively to get around, I encountered some of the most angry drivers of my life, shouting frequently at passengers, other drivers and mainly other road users (car drivers).
Michael Bennett
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Luckily it isn’t London, where any meaningful parallel bus services to the tram would be have been withdrawn the second the tram started. An example being once Metrobus full double-deckers running fast directly from Orpington (miles from the tram route) to Croydon, now a circuitous bus route and having to change onto an often over-crowded tram which NEVER connects at Addington Interchange on return.
I thought the 100 would suffer after the Airport tram extension, but clearly not. Not sure how the Bright Bus staff cope with the rather bold and flimsy advertisement panel on a (quite often) windy day on Waverley Bridge, but good luck to them.
Terence Uden
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@Terence Uden – just to add some clarification to your comments.
The “circuitous” bus route from Orpington to Addington Village (route 353) follows the exact same route, serving the same stops, as the “fast” route to Croydon to which you refer.
There was another change made to the 353 when it was cut between Addington and Croydon. Frequencies were doubled – from half-hourly to every 15 minutes Mon-Sat daytimes, from hourly to half-hourly evenings and Sundays (Mon-Sat daytime frequency has since dropped back to 20 minutes, but is nevertheless better than provided when the 353 ran to Croydon). If I recall correctly, Metrobus had run the route commercially before the tram opened, but decided to give it up as a commercial operation when the tram opened, retaining it under contract to LRT/TfL.
One shortcoming was that through fares between 353 and tram were not made available. That has since been addressed by the Mayor’s “hopper” fare allowing interchange bus/bus or bus<>tram across the TfL network.
As a former occasional driver on route 353, while it is true that it did carry respectable loads into and out of Croydon, buses weren’t often full in my experience.
Malc M
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The 353 was indeed commercial and you clearly didn’t drive it during Monday to Friday peak hours. It originally ran directly across Hayes and Keston Commons and the end to end journey time was as little as 29 minutes at one point. Of course, journey times did get extended with worsening traffic conditions and the route was also diverted via Hayes.
But the point I making was that Metrobus, unlike Lothian Buses, were forced to truncate the route at Addington Interchange, thus passengers had no choice as in Edinburgh. And, as you point out, the Mayor’s hopper fare did not exist then, so most regular passengers were seriously inconvenienced.
TU
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@Terence Uden – thank you for telling me when I did and didn’t drive route 353.
The 353 did take a more direct routeing way back in the past, however the diversion via Hayes was implemented by Metrobus while the route was still commercial, years before the tram opened. To infer that the tram, or London’s bus planning system, caused the routeing to become circuitous is misleading (to say the least). It was a commercial decision by the operator.
Were Metrobus forced (as you put it) to truncate the route? My recollection is that they decided the route was no longer commercial, but either negotiated a contract or won it on tender. They had several other commercial routes which they had developed in SE London but, one by one, they surrendered these. Nothing to do with the tram – I think it was more to do with London’s fares policy (which put the interest of the passenger ahead of that of the operator).
Malc M
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Is there enough demand to support 2 bus operator and the tram?
Currently the bus is cheaper and a bit faster hen the tram, Longer term it may be the tram fares come down once the start up costs are recovered
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I can only comment on observation rather than experience, but it seems to me that the Airlink 100 service ‘works’ because it uses vehicles designed to accommodate the passengers it intends to carry, ie those passengers travelling to/from the airport to fly. The luggage space provided is impressive, and this is the difference compared to ‘regular’ local buses, which now have limited amount of space to carry luggage. Not so bad if its just yourself with a single suitcase, but if there’s a group of you with suitcases, its not that practical to take a local bus.
Stu – West Midlands Bus Users
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The thing that bugs me about the tram and airports in particular is that the tram fare massively increases after the penultimate stop prior to the airport. What is it about airports that you are surcharged for using them? The same with charging motorists to pick up/drop off. Massive price gouging scam. I hope airport staff get a lower fare.
Peter Brown
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In Edinburgh most staff travelling to the airport will use the £22 weekly ticket.
There is a much higher level of enforcement at the airport tram stop than across the system related to the much higher fares for the last half mile.
Gareth Cheeseman
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Gareth,
Compared to the five day city zone only ticket for £15. The airport zone only covers the airport station, so IMO that is price gouging just because they can.
Peter Brown
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High quality buses to a major airport. Wished we had these in London again and good on Lothian for maintaining an excellent level of service. Bring back Airbus. How about it London United/RATP ?
Martin W
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@Martin W – am I right in thinking London United sold the Airbus operation to National Express, who withdrew it once the Heathrow Express rail service opened? (Happy to be corrected if I have misremembered)
Malc M
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I think you are right. I’d forgotten that. Not much chance of (Mobico ?) running it again then. Perhaps someone more enterprising? Xmas Day would be a good start. LHR has quite a few flights on Xmas day as I imagine Edinburgh has ? Well at least they run buses on Xmas day in Edinburgh
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In the meantime us poor Londoners will have make to with the twenty trains an hour between Heathrow and Central London.
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There is the Piccadilly line as well. There were plans to provided a direct rail link from Reading to Heathrow bit that has gone quiet
There will be as far as I know a direct rail link from Old Oak Common to Heathrow, That will make travel from WCML to Heathrow a lot quicker and easier
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When I first flew to Edinburgh Guide Friday were the competition. They used ex Nottingham vehicles with Lpg conversions and a roof. They ran in Nottingham livery and were 50p cheaper than Airlink.
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Perhaps it’s worth mentioning that the Airlink 100 operates EVERY DAY, including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day (although there isn’t a night service on these days).
Premium fares to the airport zone probably come about through access charges and departure fees imposed by the airport operator.
Trams are particularly popular with visitors staying in Leith. They serve a lot of Air BnBs and other smaller guest houses close to Leith Walk tram stops. Newhaven bound trams usually get rammed with luggage especially during afternoon peaks.
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Airlink bus much better than the tram (and, if the schedule works, quicker too – 30 mins compared to 33 mins between airport and city centre). Tram also misses two large hotels, the Delta and the Holiday Inn and the number of smaller hotels around Murrayfield/Wester Coates. Ironically, too, Airlink buses better for luggage storage than the tram.
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