Threatened Dumfries to Edinburgh bus route secures funding lifeline

A "vital link" bus service facing the threat of removal in August has secured a funding extension lifeline.

It will allow the Dumfries to Edinburgh 101/102 service to run until the end of March next year.

It follows protests held at stops along the route from campaigners seeking its retention.

They said that their battle would now continue in order to ensure the service would have a long-term future beyond early 2023.

The 101/102 service runs between south west Scotland and the capital, and serves a number of towns and villages including West Linton, Biggar and Moffat.

However, it faced removal when a contract with Stagecoach West Scotland ends on 13 August.

The local authorities and other bodies who funded it blamed the situation on a sharp rise in proposed running costs.

Stagecoach said the financial environment and travel patterns were "completely different" from the last time the service was tendered in 2018.

The potential removal saw an online petition gather thousands of signatures and a demonstration held along the route.

In a joint statement, Scottish Borders Council (SBC) and transport bodies SWestrans and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport confirmed an agreement had been reached.

It said it would preserve the service until 31 March next year with further talks planned to secure the long-term future of bus services to communities on the route.

"The three partners have agreed to fund the increased cost of the service for the remainder of financial year 2022/23," it said.

"SWestrans, SBC and SPT would like to thank, individual correspondents, the communities along the route, and elected representatives for their work to raise awareness of the importance of bus services in rural areas.

"Invitations to tender and discussions with communities for longer term solutions for the route will be undertaken during the autumn."