Lothian Buses Reviews 

Buses never on time, always delayed, overall terrible bus service which always causes massive delays to journeys. Buses can also sometimes come way too early which means you need to wait half an hour for the next bus

I am currently at one of the Lothian bus stops where one of their busses is already over 10 minutes late and not scheduled to show up for at least another five. The only bus that I can use for my daily journey is regularly late and only runs an hourly service for the majority of the day which means delays often have a large knock on effect.

I've used this bus service now for over three years and drivers are so often polite and patient. Do they have a regular supply of patience pills? Today's just one more example of a bus driver waiting just those few moments longer while the old man (me) and the old dog try to trot to the bus stop. But I see this on almost ever journey, good humour, careful driving and unending patience. This has to be part of the culture. Well done Lothian Buses!

What happened to Lothian buses? Before the so called pandemic, the bus service was great, After it, it's gone to pot and now a bus pass is £80.00. I think they have a bit of a cheek to raise prices when the service is not very good. I've always loved Lothian buses and have always thought they were great but not now. Nearly every night it's a long wait and I thought buses were meant to be every 15 minutes. I always have to get another bus and walk for miles to get home when I should be able to hop on a bus and get straight home. I'm pained to have to write this but It's getting stressful just trying to get a bus.

I loved the service and am very impressed with the introduction of the Volvo Mcv BZL DD electric bus. Seats are comfortable and the red lights were nice

Does the 141 exist? Should have been 2 141’s go through the bush campus while waiitng. Then had to get a 37 to gowkley moss, crossed over in time for a 47 who saw me (with pram) and drove off. Now an 1hr after I shoul have been home, I’be still got 40 mins until I’m home and a freezing baby.

Constant bus stop closures – just once in my life, I want to see their main bus stop in the city centre operational.
Bus fares for which you need to take out a mortgage.
And bus drivers that must count among the absolutely absolutely rudest people on this green earth.
Avoid if you can – but since they're exploiting their monopoly to the max, you probably can't.

Not punctual. I miss what I have to do, get late to work etc regularly because buses run late. The system of letting everyone out, then letting everyone in one by one takes indeed lots of time. Drivers change in the middle of the road making delays even longer. Once our bus for some reason was staying at a stop for an hour or so just behind the other broken bus. I arrived super late for my assignment.
Traffick light system in Edinburgh is indeed appalling, however it's not LB fault. It's one of big reasons for delays.
Wifi doesn't always work. Getting down from second floor is really dangerous while the bus is moving.
Separate thing is that topping up bus card is possible only in their office, not even at the machine as it normally works in many countries. And the offices shut at 5.30 pm lol
If there are trouble makers on bus drivers don't care. Someone was smoking a cigarette and driver didn't say anything.
I'm am really considering to stop using public trans in Edinburgh and switch to cycling

What a truly terrible service the 46 bus is.
For a bus that takes people to & from the RIE it's awful.
Turns up at random times if it bothers to turn up at all..
Bus operator of the year ?
Compared to what?
Wagons in the Wild West.
The form asks the date of your experience, sadly not an option for selecting every day.

What a horrible company and totally useless app.

You might think that the app would tell you the time a bus will be in a stop, because each bus it is supposed to share their location. Be sure that the bus will be 3 stops ahead at the time that is shown on the app.

Previous app worked much much better. After having used the latest version for months, I can still say that it is totally useless, worse than useless. Unreliable.

Some drivers are very unhelpful and don’t know where the rout of the bus goes when it is diverted.

They are lucky that there is no other bus company because many would never use them again.

Law unto themselves,ZERO customer service. Passengers regularly say thank you driver but drivers rarely acknowledge their passengers.Staff don't have any customer service nous and honestly their personal hygiene is disgusting. There's no competition here in Edinburgh, hence Lothian buses are a law unto themselves and continue to get away with atrocious and unprofessional behavior!

I've took the bus 14 number from pennywell cottages to greendykes terminal bus was delayed by 4 minutes that's completely ok I sat in the bus at 2pm I don't know how the driver is driving it's so slow even though this is not even rush hour there is not much traffic but I think driver is unable to drive this from 4 minutes he delayed the bus for almost 21 minutes. It's so frustrating.

How would you feel if you wave for a bus, the bus pulls in, and then the driver speed up without you in the bus?
Isn't that rude?

Very rude driver with terrible customer service skills.

Bus 100, time 15.23, date 17.11.25

Cuz i lost my bus card and i found it again but i applied for new card so my card has been blocked so today i was going to school and i was late the bus driver didn't show kindness but an other lady helped me heartless driver don't have heart for kids and edution just I'm from another country

As reliable as an emergency locksmith on Xmas day, you can set your watch.... on the tracker being wrong

Bus service 12 at 13:12 failed to stop for me. Standing at the Exchange bus stop, saw the bus, stuck my arm out and the driver just sped past me. This is the 2nd time this week! It is absolutely shocking that your bus drivers don't have the competence to stop at a bus stop. Also, after the alleged "timetable adjustments" the X18 from armadale to Edinburgh is still severely delayed. Half hourly service regularly turns near hourly as buses continue to be up to 30 minutes late.

Extremely Disappointed with Public Transport Services & Waverley Travel Hub

My experience with the public transport services, particularly the customer service at the Waverley Travel Hub, has been consistently disappointing. There is a serious lack of flexibility and absolutely no sense of kindness or professionalism from staff.

It's almost impossible to ask a simple question without having to wait in a queue. Even on occasions when more staff are present, the policy is rigid — no exceptions, no quick questions. I once politely asked if I could quickly clarify something and the staff member simply shook his head and said, “No, no, I have finished,” without even making eye contact. Incredibly rude and dismissive.

The cancellation policy for the bus pass direct debit is beyond absurd. Even after submitting a cancellation request online — which deactivates the pass immediately — they insist you physically return the card before issuing a refund for the remaining weeks. What is the logic behind this? I’m unable to use the pass, yet I must take time off work, pay for a separate ticket, and queue again, just to return a card? And if you go the next month, they’ll suggest you just keep the card in case you want to reactivate.

When I tried to express that this wasn't making any sense to me, and asked if there was a way to pass on feedback to Lothian Buses, the staff member was incredibly rude and dismissive. She repeated, “Everyone needs to wait in the queue,” and said I should have come as said on the email — even though their opening hours are exactly the same as my working hours (9 to 5). No empathy, no apology, no willingness to listen — just robotic and disrespectful treatment.

This level of customer service is unacceptable. It’s clear that convenience, respect, and basic customer care are not priorities here. Very disappointing and frankly, disgusting service. Waverley Hub and Lothian Buses seriously need to rethink their approach and policies if they care at all about their customers.

Bus 21 to clovenston @11:27pm didn’t stop for me to board -at ‘Junction place bus stop’ even though I was at the stop from not far from foot of the walk, was it because I’m black? It’s freaking cold in the night of October 2nd, saw the bus coming raise my hands but he just passed by which is totally wrong! I live and work full here time pay my taxes and got the monthly pass so why would the driver do that to me??? Im sad and not happy at all.

My hubby “lost” his wallet this morning, noticing 5 mins after leaving the bus! Long story short an hour later he was reunited with it thanks to a chap called Simon who answered the phone when I called. He quickly contacted the possible drivers and rang me straight back, telling me which bus to meet and where!
Unbelievably fantastic customer service! Thanks so much guys.
Needless to say our next stop is to buy the hubby a man bag!!