With schools opening up again, we all want to make sure we’re as prepared as we can be to keep our young loved ones safe.

To ensure we are meeting capacity on busy routes, we will continue to monitor all services across our network on a regular basis. In advance of schools returning we have added extras on services 11, 42, 44, 400 and our dedicated East Coast Buses school services 125, 126, 127, 128 will return from 12 August. We are also introducing additional journeys from Monday 17 August including four journeys on the Service 45.

Click here to view additional journeys on Lothian buses.

Click here to view our East Coast Buses school services timetable.

At Lothian, we’ve also been sharing our recommended steps for safe travel with our customers to help them take every necessary precaution to protect themselves and our driving colleagues. That goes for our young customers, too – we want to make sure children and young people travelling to school can be confident they’re keeping themselves and others safe.

With that in mind, here are our top tips for safe school travel.

1. Wash your hands or use sanitiser before boarding the bus.
2. Wear a face covering for the duration of your journey (covering your nose and mouth) unless you are exempt. Your coverings don’t have to be boring – there are lots of cool designs out there to try. Whatever you choose to wear, make sure it’s comfortable!
3. Allow any customers to leave the bus first before boarding one at a time, giving space to other customers at all times.
4. If you don’t have a Junior or Student Ridacard, consider paying by contactless if you can (read more on this below) or by using Child CitySingles (you can purchase these through our online shop or from Waverley Bridge TravelHub).
5. As tempting as it may be to sit together with friends, please limit your contact with others and sit apart where possible.
6. Leave windows open to let fresh air circulate throughout the vehicle.
7. When leaving the bus, please use hand sanitiser or wash your hands thoroughly when you arrive at school or home.
8. Our drivers are happy to help – please follow any instructions from them and don’t forget to let them know if you have any concerns.

Full Scottish Government advice can be found here – Section 136/4 relates to the use of public transport.

Contactless

You might be interested to learn that contactless is now available for child tickets! Even if your child doesn’t have their own contactless bank card or device, there are a number of prepaid contactless cards children and young people can use to pay, such as The Rooster Card (other products are also available).

When your child boards they just need to:

• Ask the driver for a child ticket and state they wish to pay by contactless.
• Wait for the driver to instruct them to tap their card/device.
• If successful, a paper child ticket will be printed.

We know this is an anxious time for parents and guardians, but you can be confident you are doing everything necessary to keep your child safe by following the above guidance.

If you’ve got any questions or queries, please get in touch with us on social media or by emailing our Customer Service team at [email protected] – we’re here to help.