Overall, Lothian Buses are a fantastic public transport operator.
I wouldn't, however, have told you that on Saturday night.
After work, I stood waiting at my usual stop at Waverley Steps. After ten minutes, a number 33 hove into view at 5 minutes to midnight. It waited patiently in line behind a number 31, then when it got it's turn it inched forward towards the stop.
The driver got to within two feet of the kerb, and I walked towards the door. Then, without even opening the doors, he stamped on the accelerator and shot away, leaving me and two middle-aged women behind me standing like twats, watching him depart.
I threw my hands up in amazement, while one of the women turned the air blue and her friend's face red.
I then had to wait another 15 minutes for a number 3. By the time I got home I was furious, full of intentions to complain first thing on Monday morning. I didn't, of course, since the anger had dissipated by then, but I tell the story just to acknowledge how rare Lothian Buses mess up. And you could argue that it wasn't them messing up, it was just their driver being a dick.
They have a great reputation for their fleet, too. Compared to the buses I used in Glasgow and Cumbernauld as a kid, the Lothian Buses are a joy. They've now decided to "green" some of their single-deckers by modifying the exhausts to reduce the emissions.
At £15,000 per bus, it's a lot cheaper than buying new buses (and means less emissions from manufacturing the new buses!), and I would imagine that each bus will pay back that money in a matter of weeks.
But perhaps they should spend another couple of thousand retraining the guy who was driving the number 33 on Saturday night?
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