First West Lothian are pleased to announce that as Monday 3^rd of August, the vast majority of services will be further improved, with many routes operating earlier journeys across the network, and more services connecting to Edinburgh City Centre.

Now with a number of measures in place to ensure customer and staff safety remains a number one priority, timetables can now return closer to their normal levels and First West Lothian is urging passengers to get back to bus.

First Bus was the first operator to introduce industry-leading social distancing seat markings in May and this move has been widely welcomed by customers across the region.

First West Lothian now carry out an enhanced cleaning regime to protect against Covid-19 on surfaces, which includes the use of anti-viral sanitiser which last for up to 28 days. Good ventilation and the uptake in use of mandatory face coverings by customers are other factors that combine to help to keep travel safe for customers onboard.

Following the reduction of social distancing to 1m in Scotland, First West Lothian has worked hard to quickly implement the changes safely, in line with the latest advice from the Scottish Government and are now increasing services to match demand on some of their most popular routes across their network, which includes the return of more direct links into Edinburgh.

Vehicles have been updated with new layouts and signs to inform customers of the additional seats which have now made available on board. All changes have been made based on robust and detailed risk assessments to ensure the ongoing safety of customers and drivers.

First West Lothian are focusing resource to services where demand has returned and there is still high demand.

As a result, some other services will still be restricted in terms of service levels and customers are urged to refer to the First Bus website to check the full timetable information before travelling.

David Phillips, Operations Director First West Lothian, said “We are looking forward to welcoming back even more customers over the coming weeks and months as the vast majority of services now begin to operate nearer to pre-Covid timetable levels. This means that with social distancing still in place, we will have many more seats available than in recent weeks and services operating at higher frequencies.

“We know that this additional capacity and frequency will be a great relief to some commuters, as well as customers considering their first journeys for leisure purposes. We are grateful to all our customers for adhering to our on-board measures and thank them for their support. These measures, together with enhanced anti-viral cleaning and the increase in frequency provide reassurance to our customers that our services are safe and reliable. We are delighted to play our part in helping to get the local economy moving again.”

Vehicles have been updated with signs to inform customers of the available seating on board. All changes have been made based on robust and detailed risk assessments to ensure the ongoing safety of customers and staff.

In line with the increased capacity the First Bus app will continue to help customers plan their journeys by showing live bus capacity in real time and advising if the wheelchair space on each service is free.

To find out more information on the August 3^rd changes to timetables across the First West Lothian network, head to www.firstscotlandeast.com.