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Future of local bus routes in Dumfries and Galloway revealed

Jamie Russell
BBC Scotland News
Reporting fromDumfries
Billy McCrorie A small Stagecoach bus for Cargenbridge heads through the countryside near DumfriesBilly McCrorie
New contracts for services across the region will come into force in August

Most local bus services in Dumfries and Galloway will continue when Stagecoach pulls out of the region, according to the local authority.

Dumfries and Galloway Council said 45 contracts lasting seven years have been issued for routes it subsidises, following a successful tender process.

But some services will be axed due to "extremely low" passenger numbers and revisions made to other routes to "improve efficiency".

Twelve other local routes, which do not receive a council subsidy, are still to find operator.

Stagecoach announced last week it would withdraw almost all its services in the region because they were "no longer commericially viable".

Councils have a duty to provide public transport services to meet needs that cannot be provided on a commercial basis.

A spokesperson for the council said the 45 routes will be operated by Telford's Coaches Limited; Brownriggs (Thornhill) LLP; J McCulloch & Son; McCalls Coaches Ltd; and Houston's Mini Coaches.

DGC Buses - the council's in-house bus service provider - will operate services that did not receive any "compliant bids" through the tender process.

However it has not revealed which routes the operators will take on, which routes have been scrapped and which routes have changed.

BBC Scotland News has approached Dumfries and Galloway Council (DGC) for clarification.

Colin Smyth, the Scottish Labour MSP for the South of Scotland, said the council's statement raised more questions than it answered.

"Thousands of passengers still have no idea who, if anyone, will be running their bus come August - and over 130 local workers are being kept in the dark about their futures," he added.

The MSP called for the council to explore the creation of a municipal bus company, similar to Lothian Buses, to secure long-term resilience.

The current contracts with Stagecoach will end on August 6 - when the operator will drop to running two services in the region - the X74 Dumfries to Glasgow route and the 79 service from Dumfries to Carlisle.

DGC said most of the locally subsidised bus services operated under contract with regional transport partnership SWestrans will continue with the same frequency and timetable.

The 12 commercial routes that are still to find operators are:

  • 74 Dumfries to Moffat
  • 81 Dumfries to Lockerbie (some services only)
  • 236 Dumfries to Thornhill (Sunday only)
  • 246 Dumfries to Cumnock
  • 501 Dumfries to Castle Douglas (some services only)
  • D1 Locharbriggs to Dumfries Town Centre
  • D10 Dumfries Burns Statue to Dumfries Great King St
  • D10B Lochside to Dumfries via Lincluden/Newbridge (evening and Sunday services only)
  • D12 Lincluden to Dumfries Town Centre
  • D2 Heathhall to Dumfries Town Centre
  • D3 Georgetown to Dumfries Town Centre
  • D4 Lochvale to Dumfries Town Centre

"Although SWestrans is responsible for the delivery of the local subsidised bus network, neither it nor Dumfries and Galloway Council is responsible for the operation or allocation of commercial routes," the council said.

The majority of these services were run by Stagecoach.

Dumfries and Galloway Council A man with grey-ish brown hair and a beard in a jacket with a white shirt and blue jumper underneath.Dumfries and Galloway Council
New council leader Stephen Thomson said contracts would ensure high standards across Dumfries and Galloway

Council leader Stephen Thomson said: "We've been able to award long-term contracts that will ensure services can continue and with greater efficiency and reliability, providing communities in Dumfries and Galloway with a well-connected local bus network."

The leader added that the new contract agreements will ensure operators invest in their fleets of vehicles "to offer the highest standard possible of service to passengers".

Work is underway to promote the updated passenger information across the region in preparation for the launch of the new network in early August.

Updated timetable information will be available on the Dumfries and Galloway Council website from mid July or by contacting Traveline Scotland on 0141 465 1878.

School transport

Dumfries and Galloway Council said it has also approved recommendations to award contracts to run home-to-school transport services for the region.

The authority has a statutory responsibility to provide the service, but current contracts are due to expire at the end of this academic year.

The council said details would be confirmed at the end of that process, in early July.

"The council is committed to ensuring all school transport routes are operational for the start of the school year in August," it added.