Calls for council to step up bus provision

DUMFRIES and Galloway Council should be moving up a gear to reinstate lost bus services to the public, a councillor argued this week.

At the special council meeting yesterday to discuss problems with the region’s new bus provision, Annandale North Councillor Carolyne Wilson said: “The public have been told in press statements that this is ‘business as usual’, when I would say it really isn’t.

“And they’ve been told by the council and Swestrans that they have no obligations when it comes to commercial services – which simply is not true. There are clear legal duties, which apply on commercial services that are withdrawn.”

She then quoted Transport Scotland Act legislation and argued that a full assessment should have been carried out for all routes, and that the council should have stepped in to cover those that commercial operators weren’t prepared to take on.

Gordon Bryce, the council’s fleet and transportation manager, gave assurances that steps were being taken by the council’s DGC Buses to cover gaps in service where possible.

He added that Houston’s Buses is currently working on “building capacity” with timetables that will see three buses per hour in Lochside, two per hour in Locharbriggs, and hourly services in Lincluden and Heathhall.

Karen Brownlie, the council’s interim assistant director of transport and infrastructure, added: “Whilst Swestrans and the council have no responsibility over commercial routes, officers are working very, very closely with those operators to ensure that the best possible services are delivered.”