Richard Hall will leave his managing director role at Lothian buses by the end of the week

The controversial boss of Lothian buses has stepped down from his managing director role as head of the city's publicly owned bus company.

Richard Hall, whose £227,700 salary made him the highest paid public official in the city told the board at a meeting today that his time at the bus operator was over and stepped down.

He will stay in the role until after the next Lothian board meeting on 5 March, having been appointed managing director of Lothian buses in April 2016.

Sign up to our daily newsletter The i newsletter cut through the noise Sign up Thanks for signing up! Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting...

Nigel Serafini, Lothian's commercial director will step in as interim managing director.

Mr Hall is the highest paid public official in Edinburgh, earning £165,000 a year before bonuses and pension add-ons worth £62,700, more than council chief executive Andrew Kerr.

The decision follows months of turmoil Mr Hall's management at Lothian and plummeting staff morale.

Mr Hall first came under significant pressure in April last year during a row over a lack of buggy and wheelchair space on the new triple-axle 'super buses' which saw thousands of parents and carers sign a petition calling for the buses to be redesigned.

In June last year, Mr Hall faced council criticism after another row over personalised number plates on coaches, allegedly to taunt rival companies.

Senior council official Paul Lawrence said the council “strongly opposes” any activity which could be taken as intimidatory.

Ahead of the festival season in July, Lothian drivers were within days of walking out over working conditions and "bullying" management at the bus firm.

The strike, which was delayed for a week, was called off after a deal with bosses was agreed on 9 August.

Mr Hall said: “Lothian has been a huge part of my life over the last 4 years.

“Our business never sleeps, we deliver for customers 24/7, 365 days of the year and that operational intensity of running public transport is extremely high and the time has now come for me to take on a new challenge.

“It has been a tremendous privilege to serve as Lothian’s Managing Director and I am incredibly proud of all that we have achieved as a team. I would like to thank all the people that I have worked with at Lothian for their commitment, assistance and support over the years.”

Jim McFarlane Lothian's chair, added: “On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Richard for the significant contribution he has made across Lothian during his time as Managing Director.

“Under his leadership Lothian has seen significant geographic expansion of the business in addition to growth in customer numbers, revenues and profit.

“We would like to take this opportunity to wish Richard all the very best in his future endeavours.”

Unite the union's regional officer Lyn Turner said: “Following the announcement today that Lothian Buses managing director, Richard Hall will stand down with immediate effect and Unite is hopeful that a new chapter will be forged with his successor.

"Unite will be seeking an urgent meeting with the acting managing director Nigel Serafini, to safeguard our members interests and to ensure the future success of the company.”