About The Red Bus
The Red Bus is the only operator in and around Edinburgh using the iconic Routemaster with 100% authentic interiors, 64 seats and open entrance platforms. Our conductors are onboard at all times to greet and assist your guests.
We have three Routemasters in our fleet. They are fully insured for private hires and maintained to an excellent standard. This includes 10-weekly scheduled inspections to comply with operator licensing regulations.
We have been doing this for more than 15 years which means we have the experience to make your day run beautifully.
We do bespoke transport for weddings, guided tours for corporate events. We include fresh flowers and a personalised destination blind for your wedding, and can offer drinks/refreshments en route. Perhaps you'd like some live music? Let us know when you make your enquiry and we would be delighted to help.
About Sam and Clunie Phipps
Clunie and Sam met as students in Manchester quite a while ago. Back in 1994 they were living and working in London – Clunie as a gilder, Sam as a journalist – but were keen to settle in Edinburgh. They married there and stayed.
Sam kept dreaming about red Routemasters, the shifting street furniture of his first 30 years. The dreams became more frequent and usually featured several Routemasters at once, proving the adage about buses.
To save on therapy, Clunie had the idea of buying one of these beauties and setting it to work on hires. So they did. Then another. Then another. This was possible because Edinburgh's would-be married couples and corporate decision makers were taking to the buses almost as much as Sam always had. The whole thing was (almost) as simple as that.
These days it's a full-time business with a great team. However, Stella and Gabriel their eldest two children are still part-time conductors; Iona the youngest has starred in a Fringe show on the bus; Sam is often behind the wheel and Clunie is working on the next big bus plan.
Our original The Red Bus logo