McGill’s Group business unit Bright Bus opened competition on the Edinburgh to Edinburgh Airport bus axis from 1 January with its Airport Express route. The service runs up to every 10 minutes during the early morning peak and competes with the established Airlink 100 of Lothian Buses.
McGill’s says that its Edinburgh Airport route connects with Bright Bus Tours’ open-top departures in the Scottish capital and offers cheaper tickets than the competition, with an adult single at £4 and a return at £6.50. Lothian’s website shows £5.50 and £8 respectively for those journeys on its Airlink 100 service.
Bright Bus Tours became part of an expanding McGill’s empire with the purchase of the former First Bus East Scotland business in 2022. The current owner says that taking Bright Bus into an airport service follows the brand’s four years of “developing a quality touring product across the nation’s capital.” Bright Bus Tours was established by First to compete with Lothian’s open-top services.
McGill’s adds: “The company believes that serving the airport is a natural next step to serve the thousands of tourists who use [our] hop-on, hop-off buses each year.” Several Alexander Dennis Enviro300 buses have been repainted for the new service.
McGill’s Group Managing Director Alex Hornby says that the business is “always looking at new ways to give our customers great public transport connections and develop our Bright Bus leisure product further.”
Mr Hornby adds: “Bright Bus has been a great success for us, and we are keen to spread the magic of this start-up, friendly brand across the city so that incoming visitors and locals alike can reap the benefits of cheaper, faster, brighter and more sustainable travel options to and from Edinburgh Airport.
“The whole team is thrilled to be launching Bright Bus Airport Express and growing public transport usage across the city.”
A timetable shows that service commences at 0330hrs seven days per week, with a 15-minute frequency during daytime hours. The competing Lothian Airlink 100 operates 24/7, with a broadly 10-minute daytime frequency.
