Lothian is marking 100 years of night bus operations in and beyond Edinburgh, observing how two seasonal services launched in 1925 have grown to 18 routes that run across the Scottish capital and into Midlothian, East Lothian and West Lothian.
A century ago, night bus provision in Edinburgh captured a pair of winter-only routes aimed at workers. It now encompasses what Lothian says is among the UK’s most comprehensive networks for all-night travel.
The two initial routes were suspended between 1939 and 1946, but the network grew in 1947. Evolution followed that before the deregulation era of the 1980s brought a period where services were provided by Scottish Bus Group subsidiary Eastern Scottish.
N-prefix route numbers were introduced in 2002, and the night bus network became fully commercial in 2004. At that point, Lothian committed to continue development of the services and deliver them as part of what it terms a wider social dividend. Patronage was just over 100,000 per year in 2001, but that rose to over 750,000 by 2007.
Now around 10,000 miles are covered each week by the NightBus-branded network, with 800,000 customer journeys delivered in 2024. Depots in central Edinburgh, Livingston, Longstone and Musselburgh operate those services, with 34 buses occupied at weekends and 26 on other nights.
Speaking about the milestone, Lothian Head of Commercial Keith Finlay says: “Our NightBus services are a lifeline for the people of Edinburgh and the Lothians, and over the last 100 years we have delivered safe and reliable public transport through the night.
“None of this would be possible without the dedication of our NightBus drivers and the teams working tirelessly behind the scenes, whose commitment ensures the trusted service our customers receive.
“Lothian is delighted to celebrate this milestone, and excited to see out NightBus network continue to play such an important role for our customers in the years ahead.”
To mark the centenary, Lothian will stage a campaign that celebrates it, raises awareness of the night network, and pays tribute to team members who work in the small hours to ensure services run reliably.
