Campaigners say ditching tram plan for buses could save Roseburn Path

The Roseburn Path is used by people making half a million journeys each year, but is in danger of being lost under plans to extend the city’s tram network. 

On Thursday, councillors on the Transport and Environment Committee investigating plans to extend the tram network heard research carried out on BRTs across the globe as they discussed solutions to the capital’s public transport issues.  

Essentially a tram system with buses, BRTs use dedicated lanes and stops to link up parts of cities without the need for the huge infrastructure upheaval putting tram lines down incurs.  

First implemented in Curitiba, Brazil in 1974, the system is popular across Latin America including the cities of Bogota and Quito.  

The Roseburn Path is a green route through the city (Image: Save the Roseburn Path) More recently, BRT has been put into service across China, South East Asia and Africa, and has also been successfully implemented in cities across North America, including Los Angeles.   

They are less common in Europe, where trams and trains have historically been favoured.

The upfront costs of BRTs are vastly cheaper than extended tramlines. However, the cost over time is greater due to upkeep on the vehicles and everyday maintenance.  

The Roseburn Path is used to make more than a thousand journeys each day by people walking and cycling through the city, and is part of Edinburgh’s active travel network. 

It is also one of the only remaining slices of green space running through the urban environs of the city and designated a Local Nature Conservation Site. 

But under the tramline plans it would all but disappear, with only a small, three-meter wide slice for walkers and wheelchair users remaining while cycling “would be discouraged” and diverted onto nearby roads. 

Could buses be a better bet than trams for Edinburgh's transport woes? (Image: NQ) Council documents show that the Roseburn Path is now the preferred option for the tramline, despite the fact it would incur “significant tree loss” and require major replanting before its status as a natural haven for wildlife could be restored. 

The campaign calling for the path to be saved says that BRT idea could be a solution, as We believe a Bus Rapid Transit is interesting as: “An on-road BRT option in the north of the city would result in the Roseburn Path remaining as-is.” 

In a statement, they said: “BRT comes at a fifth of the cost of trams. This could be particularly important in terms of securing value for money for the public purse; and a viable option in terms of what can actually be funded. 

“BRT can be implemented faster. We need to act now to address the climate emergency and alleviate congestion in the city. 

“BRT [also] substantially delivers the benefits of a light trail / tram option.” 

They added: “Taking the Roseburn Path to one side, the cost differential and potential speed of implementation do raise the question of whether council officers are asked to pause work on trams and start working on a viable BRT option instead.” 

READ MORE:

• Campaign launched to save 'vital' green corridor in Edinburgh from tram plan
• Edinburgh Trams records more than 12 million customer journeys in 2024

Edinburgh had its own short section of off-road dedicated busway from Stenhouse to Broomhouse between 2004 and 2009.  

But the £10m City of Edinburgh Rapid Transit scheme (CERT) - which saw buses with guide-wheels running on segregated concrete tracks but able to run on normal roads as well - was then abandoned and converted into part of the tramline. 

Committee convenor Cllr Stephen Jenkinson previously said: "In a city like Ednburgh, where we have to think how we move a mass number of people around the city efficiently, I don't think anything can land a glove on trams. 

"Based on population growth of Edinburgh and Lothians over the foreseeable future, if we do nothing on mass public transport in Edinburgh we would require an extra 300 buses at peak times to move people around the city. 

"We need solutions that are future-proofed for the city. We need mass public transport because this city and region are developing and growing faster than anywhere else in the country. 

"If we're not on the front foot with this, we're going to be in a situation where just to satisfy the public transport requirements of the people living and working here if we do nothing Princes Street will be a bus park and no-one's going to be moving anywhere.” 

But Cllr Jenkinson said as part of a wider regional integrated transport system, BRT could “complement” the planned new tramline by linking to it. 

A decision on the new tram route is expected by the end of the year.