More than 50 contracts are to be scrapped as part of a radical plan to restructure bus services across the region.
And officials have warned that from the summer “some existing routes will not be served by bus” while “on-demand” services could be introduced.
Officials at transport partnership SWestrans are currently developing a new public transport network.
SWestrans lead officer Douglas Kirkpatrick told Friday’s board meeting that the new model would be a three tier approach – with community run services at the top, supported and council run services in the middle and commercial at the bottom.
The end goal is to develop “a more sustainable way of delivering public transport across the region”.
At present, SWestrans financially supports 57 bus routes across Dumfries and Galloway, with contracts for 55 of them due to end in August this year.
It had been hoped to extend these contracts until March 2024 to give more time for replacement deals to be worked up as well as time for “some development of the new public transport model”.
However, in his report for Friday’s meeting, Mr Kirkpatrick said nearly 80 per cent of contract holders were unwilling to extend existing deals “mainly relating to current increases in costs across the industry”.
As a result, he recommended that the existing contracts are terminated in August and replaced with new deals.
Mr Kirkpatrick admitted: “The timeline we have to replace the new contracts significantly squeezes what we are hoping to do with the new model.”
He added that community transport will form a “key element” of the new system and stated: “The key thing here is we don’t leave any part of our region without any transport link.”
Members agreed that the contracts will be terminated in August, with officials now working on three options ahead of March’s board meeting.
One is to develop a “core network of scheduled bus services based on usage” and SWestrans’ travel need priorities.
The report warned: “Some existing routes will not be served by bus. Options for on-demand only journeys (through a booking platform) will be available in other areas.
“Although in line with the principles of the new public transport model, the development, delivery and public acceptance of on-demand services will be extremely challenging to achieve in the limited timeframe.”
Another option being looked at is terminating “low performing services”, which would also result in some areas not being served by bus.
The two contracts that do not expire in August this year are for the Dumfries to Edinburgh service, with a new, long-term contract in the process of being agreed, while the 502 Castle Douglas to Dumfries route is only funded until the end of next month.
If the money isn’t given, then existing contracts could be terminated sooner than August to free up the necessary cash. A bid to find savings in the other 55 contracts to free up the necessary £160,000 proved unsuccessful, mainly due to the lack of time left on the existing deals.
