Getting around Edinburgh

Hello,  everyone,  and  welcome  to this  video  all  about travelling  around  Edinburgh. Edinburgh  is  a  very  old  historic  city that  can  be  quite confusing  to  navigate  at  first. There's  no  street  grid. It  has  lots  of  small  windy  alleyways, and  the  st  centre  is  built  on two  different  levels  with streets  crossing  over  each  other. This  is  all  part  of  its  charm,  though, and  it  makes  it  a  unique  place  to live  that  you'll  soon get  to  know  really  well. Edinburgh  is  smaller  and compact  with  lots  of  lovely  green  spaces, which  means  it's  a  very  walkable  city. Most  students  will  find  everything they  need  is  only  a  short  walk  away. The  university  is  spread  over five  different  campuses  with hundreds  of  buildings  all  over  the  city. The  easiest  way  to  find  out  where  you  need  to go  for  your  classes  is  to  use  our  online  map. This  has  a  searchable  list  of buildings  and  also  shows  cafes,  libraries, and  other  facilities,  as  well  as useful  accessibility  and  travel  info. You  can  also  use  the  university  campus  map to  get  a  sense  of  how  long it  takes  to  walk  somewhere. If  you  click  on the  symbol  next  to  travel  time walking  layer  and  then select  a  location  you  want  to  see. The  yellow  circles  show approximate  walking  times,  like  so. Here,  we  can  see  that  both King's  Buildings  and  central  area are  only  about  20  minutes walk  from  Polar  Cos. When  you  need  to  travel further  than  walking  distance, cycling  is  usually  quicker than  taking  the  bus, and  there  is  a  mixture  of  traffic  free  and on  road  cycle  routes  around  the  city. We  also  have  an  estimated  cycling  time  layer on  our  campus  maps, and  you  can  see  that  almost  everywhere  in the  city  is  less  than  30  minutes  by  bike, with  central  and  King's  buildings only  being  about  12  minutes away  from  each  other. If  you  don't  bring  a  bike with  you  to  Edinburgh, there  are  lots  of  bike  shops  in the  city  where  you  can  get  one. We  have  a  list  on  our  website  of  ones  which sell  secondhand  bikes  and have  a  student  discount. Lights  are  essential  in  cycling. It  will  get  dark  as  early  as  3:00  P.M. In  the  middle  of  winter  here,  and  legally, you  must  use  a  front  and  back light  when  it  is  dark. Edinburgh  Council  has  recently announced  that  a  public  on street  electric  bike  hire  scheme will  be  coming  in  August  2025. At  the  time  of  recording, we  don't  know  any  more  details  than  that, but  we  will  update  our  website  when  we  do. If  you  need  to  fix  your  bike, we  offer  a  free  bike  maintenance  service for  students  called  Doctor  Bike. This  happens  about  once  a month  on  each  campus, and  the  calendar  is  on  our  website. We  also  have  free  bike  toolkits  and inner  tubes  available  from various  building  receptions  around  campus, and  we  also  sell  DLOCs. We  sell  these  at  cost  price  for just  21  pounds  from  the transport  and  parking  office. Edinburgh  is  really  well served  by  public  transport. Lothian  buses  are the  main  bus  company  in  Edinburgh  with a  frequent  and  reliable  service  that covers  the  entire  city  and  surrounding  area. If  you're  under  the  age  of  22  and  will be  resident  in  Scotland for  at  least  six  months, then  you're  eligible  to  travel  for  free. To  access  this,  you  need  to  get a  national  entitlement  card  or  NEC. You  can  apply  for  a  new  card online  or  in  person  through  the  city  council. You  just  need  to  make  sure  you  have proof  of  address  in  Scotland. If  your  card  was  issued  by  Edinburgh  Council, then  Edinburgh  trams  are  also  free. So  this  means  that  Scottish students  who  are  coming  from  outside  of Edinburgh  will  need  to reapply  if  they  want  to  use  the  trams. There  are  full  details  and guidance  on  how  to  apply  on the  scheme's  website,  freebus.gov. If  you  are  under  22, you  just  need  to  tap  your  NEC  when  you get  on  board  the  bus and  you  will  travel  for  free. For  everyone  else's  benefit, I'll  go  through  how  tickets  work. You  can  buy  a  single  or  day  ticket  on the  bus  using  exact  cash  or  contactless, or  you  can  also  buy  mobile  tickets through  the  bus  and  Tm  app. Singles  cost  two  pounds 20  and  day  tickets  are  five  pounds  50. Note  that  you  cannot  buy  a  return  ticket. Instead,  you  need  two  singles. It's  also  important  to  know  that there  aren't  any  hopper  tickets. A  single  ticket  is valid  for  one  bus  ride  only, so  if  you  change  buses, you  need  a  new  ticket. Lovian  Buses  uses  a  system called  a  tap  tap  cap, which  uses  your  contactless  bank  card or  Apple  or  Google  Pay. This  is  the  easiest  way  to  pay. When  you  pay  by  contactless, you  automatically  get  the  best  value ticket  as  you  will  never  pay more  than  five  pounds  a  day  or 24  pounds  50  per  week. Just  make  sure  that  you always  use  the  same  payment  device. Edinburgh  also  has  a  tram  line  that  runs  from the  airport  through  the  city  centre and  down  to  Leaf  in  New  Haven. You  must  buy  a  ticket  from a  ticket  machine  before  you  get  on  board. Ticket  prices  are  the  same  as  the  bus. Contactless  payments  also  work  on the  tram  with  the  same  capping system  as  the  buses. Just  tap  your  card  or  phone against  the  reader  at a  tram  stop  before  you  get  on, and  then  again  when  you  get  off. This  is  the  main  difference  between  buses and  trams  when  you're  using  contactless. With  buses,  you  don't  need  to  tap  off. But  with  trams,  you  do, because  if  you  don't  tap  off, you  will  be  charged  for a  trip  to  the  airport, which  is  much  more  expensive. If  you  are  using  public  transport  regularly, you  could  buy  a  season  ticket called  Rider  cards. These  give  you  unlimited  use  of buses  and  trams  for a  specific  amount  of  time. But  bear  in  mind  that  you  might  not  need  to use  public  transport  as often  as  you  first  think, so  it  might  be  better  value  just  to  pay by  contactless  until  you  figure  that  out. We  recommend  that  you  hold  off on  buying  a  rider  card  for a  few  weeks  whilst  you  get  used  to your  new  routine  and figure  out  what  works  for  you. There  are  student  prices for  rider  cards  shown  here, and  it  can  be  very  good  value. But  again,  only  if  you're using  the  buses  basically  every  day. Our  Kings  Buildings  campus is  well  served  by  public  buses, but  we  do  also  provide  a  free  shuttle  bus between  the  campus  and Bristol  Square  in  the  central  area. You  just  show  your  student  card to  the  driver  when  you  get  on  board, and  you  will  be  able  to  travel  on the  shuttle  bus  for  free. This  operates  Monday  to  Friday  between  8:00 A.M.  And  6:30  P.M.  During  semester  time  only. With  you  to  Edinburgh. Parking  on  campus  is  limited  and permits  are  only  given to  those  who  need  them. Each  campus  has  its  own permit  with  different  costs, and  most  halls  of  residence  do not  have  any  student  parking  spaces. Parking  on  public  streets  is  controlled by  the  city  council's  own  permit  system. If  you're  disabled  and  have  a  blue  badge, then  you  can  get a  university  parking  permit  for  free, but  you  still  need  to  apply  for  one. If  you  aren't  eligible for  a  blue  badge  but  have a  medical  or  mobility  impairment  and  you feel  you  need special  consideration  for  parking, then  please  contact the  Stent  Disability  Service, and  they  will  provide  us  with  an assessment  of  your  needs. Okay?  I  know  that's  a  lot  to  take  in, so  here's  a  quick  summary of  what  you  definitely  need  to  know. Firstly,  you  can  use our  campus  map  to  find out  where  you  need  to  go  on  campus. Secondly,  Edinburgh  is  a  small  city, and  you  can  make  most  journeys just  by  walking  or  cycling. A  bike  is  the  quickest  way  to  get  around, and  you  almost  certainly don't  need  to  bring  your  car. Number  three,  if  you're  under  22, then  you  can  use  public  transport  for  free, but  you  need  to  apply  for  an  NEC  card. Four,  if  you're  just occasionally  using  buses  and  trams, then  contactless  is the  most  straightforward  and  cheapest option  to  buy  tickets. And  five,  if  you're using  buses  and  trams  every  day, then  you  should  look  into buying  a  rider  card. But  our  advice,  again,  is  to  wait a  few  weeks  first,  figure  out  your  routine, get  to  know  your  city  and  your  commute, and  then  decide  whether that's  a  good  option  for  you. Thank  you  very  much  for  listening. If  you  have  any  questions,  you can  get  in  touch  with  us  at transport  dog  doc  dot  q, which  is  our  email  address. We  also  have  lots  of  information  on our  website,  transport.org  dot  dot. And  we  are  part  of  the  states  department, which  has  an  Instagram  account, which  is  EdinUuni  Estates. Thank  you  very  much, and  welcome  to  Edinburgh.