Local MSP Craig Hoy has pressed for improvements in funding and delivery to Dumfriesshire bus services after urging the Scottish Government to prioritise rural areas and protect essential lifeline routes.
Following recent timetable changes across Dumfries and Galloway, which have negatively impacted services, Mr Hoy has been working with bus companies, the council and the Scottish Government in a bid to get them to deliver a better service for passengers.
Speaking in the chamber at Holyrood, Mr Hoy – who is also the Conservative candidate for Dumfriesshire – said he had “real concerns” about the future of rural bus services.
He warned the Scottish Government against expanding free bus travel to wider groups unless funding can be delivered to protect and expand fragile rural bus services in Dumfries and Galloway.
Speaking at Holyrood, Mr Hoy said: “Any expansion in concessionary travel might result in scarce resources going into Central Belt areas, where we now have the concept of 15-minute neighbourhoods and people want four buses an hour. People in some parts of the south of Scotland, which I represent, simply want to have a bus service each day, and it would be impossible for them to live in a 15-minute neighbourhood.”
Mr Hoy made an appeal for supported services in rural areas which are “being cut because councils can no longer afford them”.
He said: “Lifeline services are being cut. We cannot have communities in parts of Scotland that have no access to bus travel whatsoever. It is fundamentally unfair if people pay their taxes and get a bus pass but there is no bus for them to use.”
Mr Hoy continues to press Scottish Ministers to create a dedicated rural bus fund and wants a stronger review process before rural routes are removed.
Speaking following his comments in Parliament Mr Hoy said: “The SNP Government and SNP run Dumfriesshire council must prioritise delivering a reliable, high-quality service here in Dumfriesshire instead of chasing headline-grabbing schemes such as bus passes for asylum seekers. Rural communities are being left behind, and this has got to change.
“I will keep pressing ministers to give rural councils the support to improve failing routes rather than ploughing more and more resources into the Central Belt. I have asked for specific ring-fenced funding for rural bus services, but, so far, ministers have rejected my call.”
