Calls to bring buses into public ownership

Demands will be made this week for a publicly-owned bus service that properly serves residents right across the region.

- MARC MCLEAN

The disjointed and unreliable transport options in Dumfries and Galloway will be on the agenda at the full council meeting on Thursday.

And on the back of news that Stagecoach is preparing to pull the plug on the majority of its services across the region, opposition Labour councillors are calling for the council to have more control over the local bus network.

Annandale North Councillor Carolyne Wilson, leader of the Labour Group, said: "The current model of over-reliance on large external private operators has created a fragile and fragmented network that is failing to meet the needs of residents."

She will table a motion on bus services at the council meeting which calls for a complete overhaul of bus provision in Dumfries and Galloway.

It reads: "This council agrees to begin work immediately to develop a publicly owned and operated bus service, with the capacity to deliver routes and support wider community transport provision across the region, in partnership with local transport providers.