Dear all,

Thank you for signing the petition regarding the removal of pram/buggy space on Lothian Buses.

The petition made the front page of the Edinburgh Evening News last week: 'Protest grows over ridiculous lack of buggy space on Lothian buses.'

Other access issues have also been highlighted with these new buses - including, but not limited to, problems disembarking from the middle doors for elderly passengers and passengers with limited mobility. See recent news coverage here.

Unfortunately, Lothian Buses continues to offer a cut & paste form response to users who have complained and to elected representatives/politicians who have contacted the bus company, citing their 'mixed and varied fleet' and arguing that the dedicated wheelchair space is larger than the legally required minimum and is designed so that both 'wheelchair users and buggies can co-exist in shared space.' As Cllr Scott Arthur (Colinton & Farmilehead) has shown (and as many of us have experienced), this is simply not true - see news article debunking this claim here. Lothian Buses has also so far refused to meet with parents and carers about these issues. 

It is therefore really important that parents and carers attend the upcoming public meeting of the Edinburgh Bus Users Group - which Richard Hall, Managing Director of Lothian Buses will be speaking at. There will be a representative from SPS Maternity there to speak to the petition. This takes place Thursday 2nd May, at 6 pm at the Friends Meeting House on Victoria Street. Details here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edinburgh-bus-users-group-public-meeting-tickets-59046699267?fbclid=IwAR2_58uY1pPOBsz_bs3efqA5nD4x5x00vBGBrPL-zt0QMtQmRnWzF3vdx3E

It would be great for those that can attend if you could tweet about the event on social media, as well as tweeting more generally about your experiences using these buses - a suggested hashtag is #busesforall

We will send a further update after the meeting, 

If you have ideas or other issues you'd like to raise with us - please contact us via the petition comments or at spsmaternity@gmail.com [it might take a little while for us to get back to you - we all have wee kids and day jobs!]

Thanks for your support,

SPS Maternity

(a group of parents and carers based at the University of Edinburgh)