40,000 passengers affected by flight cancellations
Ryanair has published the full list of flight cancellations between Thursday 21st September and Tuesday 31st October. These cancellations have been allocated where possible to Ryanair’s bigger base airports, and routes with multiple daily frequencies, so that Ryanair can offer these disrupted customers the maximum number of alternate flights and routes in order to minimise inconvenience to them. Continue reading Ryanair: “We messed up”
Visitors from across the UK and around the world are being treated to a “bonnie” welcome at Edinburgh Airport thanks to a new campaign promoting the Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites trail. Continue reading A bonnie welcome awaits in Edinburgh
The first air service between Edinburgh and the Isle of Man since 2013 has taken to the skies, operated by Scotland’s Airline, Loganair. The route reinstates an air link with the Isle of Man from Scotland’s capital, with Loganair scheduling up to four flights each week throughout the summer. Continue reading Loganair’s Edinburgh – Isle of Man service takes off
How can the city council make cycling and walking easier at Dean Park Crescent? Have your say!
https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/design-cycle-walk-dean-park-crescent/ …
Dean Park Crescent consultation summary sheet
The City of Edinburgh Council has secured funding from Transport Scotland to explore the potential for an ‘active travel hub’ at the Capital’s Haymarket Station, a major transport interchange at the west end of the city centre.
One of Scotland’s busiest transport hubs, with thousands of people accessing all means of transport, from trains and buses to bikes and taxis every day, Haymarket Station is also a key milestone along the planned City Centre West to East Link, for which a final route was agreed last week.
Now a £10,000 feasibility study, 100% funded by Transport Scotland and being carried out on the Council’s behalf by consultants Capita Symonds, will examine the potential for Haymarket to become a ‘hub’ for active travel.
The Council has been in discussion with a number of stakeholders, including Abellio ScotRail, Sustrans and Cycling Scotland, about the proposals and a survey is now live seeking people’s views – and especially users of Haymarket Station – on what features they would want to see in such a ‘hub’.
Facilities might include cycling and walking route-mapping information and advice, bike maintenance and/or bike/e-bike hire, depending on demand and the physical space potentially available within the station area for the service.
Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds said: “The City Centre West to East Link and opportunities to create an active travel hub at Haymarket Station represent a step-change in conditions for travelling by two wheels into, from and right through the city centre.
“We want to make walking and cycling as easy and attractive a choice as possible, and for more people to experience the benefits of travelling in an active and sustainable way for everyday journeys, as well as contributing positively to the city’s quality of life and air quality.
“I would encourage station users and anyone with an interest in improving facilities and information services for active travel in Edinburgh to have their say via this survey. The more people who tell us what would most benefit them in an active travel hub, the better we’ll be able to deliver a successful facility for all who’ll one day use it.”
The active travel hub survey is open for comments until Friday 6 January 2017.
Similar active travel hubs are already in place in Stirling, Ayr and Kilmarnock.
Princes Street’s famous Royal British Hotel has undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment and conversion to see it become a Hotel Indigo® branded property.
Continue reading The name game: the Royal British is now Hotel Indigo
Pennywell Gardens: 14 and 37 buses diverted
Due to a road closure at Muirhouse View to repair a burst pipe buses are currently unable to serve Pennywell Gardens and are instead being diverted via Pennywell Road, Muirhouse Parkway and Silverknowes Parkway.
Green light for Forth Bridge traffic following 18 day closure
The Forth Road Bridge will be open to vehicles except HGVs from tomorrow morning. The bridge was closed for safety reasons following the discovery of a cracked crossmember, but temporary repairs will allow the bridge to reopen ahead of schedule. Continue reading Forth Road Bridge to re-open tomorrow
Transport Minister Derek Mackay has thanked travellers for their patience during the first week of disruption caused by the closure of the Forth Road Bridge.
Early indications show that the travel plan launched last Sunday is helping to minimise the impact on journey times for people moving between Fife and Edinburgh.
At its peak, the Traffic Scotland website recorded over 3 million hits per day – three times more than normal – from people wishing to receive regular updates on the status of the network and plan their journeys. The plan has undergone several refinements throughout the week.
Over the course of the week journey times on the A907 diversion during peak morning hours fell by over 30 minutes, demonstrating the effectiveness of the ongoing refinements.
In addition, in response to concerns brought forward by local businesses and communities, the restrictions on the dedicated Bus/Goods Vehicle prioritisation corridor on the A985 from Kincardine Roundabout and Cairneyhill Roundabout have been lifted to accommodate all goods vehicles during weekdays, and all vehicles on weekday nights and at weekends.
ScotRail have introduced an extra early morning train on Tuesday to supplement the additional services already running, bringing the number of extra seats on offer across the Forth Rail Bridge up to 10,000 per day. This extra capacity represents an increase in 64% on usual passenger numbers.
Over the past week Stagecoach have provided an additional 33 vehicles per day, equating to an extra 11,000 seats, for services between Halbeath, Ferrytoll and Dunfermline to Edinburgh and Livingston, operating up to every 10 minutes at peak times. Journey times are relatively consistent at 1hr 30mins
Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: ““I wish to thank the public for their patience and forbearance during this last week. I appreciate that many people have had to make significant changes to their travelling plans and, through their cooperation, we have succeeded in keeping the transport network in Fife operational and getting people to and from where they need to be.
“We have been constantly monitoring the situation and taking on board the advice and concerns of the local communities to ensure that we are doing the very best job that we can. At the centre of this co-ordination has been our comprehensive travel plan, which we have taken steps to refine over the last week
“Although certain services do remain busy, there does remain some capacity on certain routes, especially on the bus network. I encourage people to keep checking the travel plan published on the Traffic Scotland website for the latest advice.
“The team responsible for fixing the bridge are working 24/7 to get it reopened as soon as possible and are making good progress. It is of course vital that until it’s repaired we continue to explore what further improvements can be made to the travel plan and take on board feedback.”
Phil Verster, Managing Director of the ScotRail Alliance, said that further refinements to the timetable will deliver further improvements. “We’ve listened to customers’ feedback this week and fine-tuned the timetable to add in extra stops at Rosyth and stations south of the Forth on selected services from today,” he said. “The information is already on our website and in journey planners. We’re doing everything we can to keep people moving. I have to pay tribute to our customers for their understanding, and to our staff for what they have delivered – and continue to deliver – in such challenging timescales.”
Andrew Jarvis, Managing Director, Stagecoach East Scotland said: “The implementation of the bus and good vehicle priority measures have meant journey times from Fife to Edinburgh are just 90 minutes and we’ve been able to increase the frequency of services as a result. With more people heading for the buses, traffic on the roads should be that bit quieter and we have a reduced fare of £3 return in place to help ease the cost of the commute. We’re pleased that so many non-bus users have tried the shuttle services and are getting to their destination in a relaxed and timely manner and we’ve had a significant amount of positive feedback from our customers.
“Our staff have been amazing, coping superbly and cheerfully with changes to routes, timetables and shifts with very little notice in order to keep the travelling public moving. We have had drivers from all round Scotland, the north of England and Wales come to help out and I’m very grateful to them and their families for their hard work and adaptability.”
Dedicated website also launched
A comprehensive travel plan to address the impact of the necessary Forth Road Bridge closure has been launched by Transport Minister Derek Mackay, who also encouraged people to plan their journeys carefully and to allow time for a longer commute to work. Continue reading Forth Road Bridge closure: government reveals travel plan
