My Life, My City: George Lowder, Edinburgh

As part of the My Life, My City series, Cities Today talks to George Lowder, Chief Executive, Transport for Edinburgh.

What was your first job?

A Saturday job washing, cleaning and loading vehicles for an electrical engineering company, ready for them to go out on Monday morning.

What attracted you to your current role?

The challenge and the opportunity to give something back to my home city.

What is your favourite part of the job?

Delivering and seeing tangible improvements and outcomes, such as taking tram advertising ‘in-house’, taking the management of tram maintenance contracts in-house, the huge steps taken by Lothian Buses to procure and operate a clean fleet, the Edinburgh Wayfinding Project, and the introduction of contactless payment with more to come to integrate this across buses and trams.

And of course, the completion of the tram line to Newhaven, on time and on budget.

What has been your biggest success in this role?

The procurement and delivery of the Edinburgh Cycle Hire Scheme with no capital expenditure and no operational expenditure. A fantastic contract for the city with Serco.

What has been your biggest setback?

The closure of the Edinburgh Cycle Hire Scheme as a consequence of the levels of theft and damage experienced during the COVID pandemic.

What are you working on right now that you’re excited about?

The conversation regarding the next tram extension.

If you could wave a magic wand, what one thing would you fix in your city?

Overnight every transport aspiration in the City’s Mobility Plan 2030 and supporting Action Plans would miraculously be in place. This includes an entire tram network, a recast bus service, a new cycle hire scheme, all road works complete, the city centre transformed and the Circulation Plan working smoothly.

What are you reading right now?

Preferred Lies by Andrew Greig.

Who has most inspired you in the work that you do?

The people who work for Edinburgh Trams and Lothian Buses.

If you weren’t doing this job, what do you think you might be doing?

I have absolutely no idea. I expect that I would still be involved in the third sector as I am now.

What’s your favourite place in your city and why?

My home. It’s where my sons grew up and my immediate family remain grounded.

What’s one thing people might not ordinarily know about you?

I’m a reasonable home cook.

• Time in role: 7.5 years as Chief Executive of Transport for Edinburgh.
• Brief career history: 35 years in the Army. A Law degree, a Masters Degree and an HR qualification. Involvement in almost every expeditionary UK operation in those years.
• Career tip: Don’t ask someone to do anything that you would not do yourself.