Rural communities in west Edinburgh are at risk of losing public transport links with the rest of the city amid an operator's plan to cut "lifeline" bus services in response to driver shortages.
First Buses said it will discontinue three council -subsidised buses it has run over the last two years when the contract is up at the end of August.
Unless action is taken to save the services the move will result in the loss of the 20, 63 and 68 which connect communities including Gyle, Balerno, Queensferry, Ratho, Kirkliston and Chesser with the rest of the capital.
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Councillor Kevin Lang, who represents the affected Almond ward, stressed that such an outcome would be a "disaster" and called on the council-owned Lothian Buses to "step in" and extend its services out to the rural west of the city.
A group representing the interests of bus users across Edinburgh said it came as "really bad news" as in some cases it could see villages' only transport links axed.
Edinburgh City Council has paid First to operate buses along the routes since August 2020 after contracts were put out to tender.
The contracts, agreed for an initial period of two years, included options to extend the deal by a further year twice, however it's understood First do not want to continue the arrangement beyond the end of next month.
A briefing to councillors explained the decision had been taken partly as a result of driver shortages, with some reportedly leaving the sector to work as delivery drivers with companies such as Amazon.
The council has initiated talks with Lothian Buses and other local operators in an effort to find a solution before the services cease running. One possibility could see existing Lothian routes amended to 'fill the gaps' left by the cuts.
However, the publicly-owned company is expected to announce "small changes" of its own to services which will be "acutely felt by some people" from September, according to the council's transport convener Scott Arthur.
Highlighting the issue of bus driver shortages on Twitter, Cllr Arthur directed his followers to the Lothian Buses website where people are being urged to consider training as drivers.
Lib Dem councillor Kevin Lang expressed grave concern for his west constituents if the three services stop running next month.
He said: "The loss of these lifeline bus services would be a disaster for the communities in the rural west of Edinburgh. These are villages which are already under-served by public transport. If you take the case of Kirkliston you don't even have the council-owned Lothian buses operating in that village.
"So every effort needs to be made with First to try and get them to reconsider their position or to at least continue this service while an alternative arrangement is put in place.
"But if they won't then we need to urgently find an alternative provider and it still angers me that Lothian Buses, as the council-owned bus service, has not been more committed to serving these communities that are part of the City of Edinburgh.
"These people are as deserving of services from the council-owned bus services as someone in Leith or the City Centre or Morningside.
"They have continually been let down and short-changed by Lothian Buses and this is an opportunity for Lothian to show a greater commitment to these parts of the city.
"I think it is simply unacceptable for the council-owned bus company to say 'we are not interested in serving parts of the City of Edinburgh."
A spokesperson for Edinburgh Bus Users Group (EBUG) said the situation "shows the serious impact driver shortages are having across the whole of the UK bus industry".
They added: "This is really bad news for communities in west Edinburgh.
"The 20 in particular is Ratho's connection to the rest of Edinburgh. We've pointed out how simple changes could be made to improve it; now it seems the whole route's under threat."
The council's transport convener said he was disappointed at the decision which will have a "devastating impact on individuals" whilst making it "harder for Edinburgh to meet its climate change targets".
Cllr Scott Arthur, Labour, added: "Officers are, however, discussing all options with them to try and ensure some level of service continues beyond the contract end date of 30 August this year.
"This will give us breathing space to put alternative provision in place, and officers are now investigating long-term solutions as a matter of urgency.
"It is clear that driver shortages and other issues are affecting the entire bus operator industry, but efforts to find a replacement will continue over the coming months, and the community will be kept up to date.”
A spokesperson for First Scotland East said: “We can confirm our existing contract with City of Edinburgh Council to run services 20, 63 and 68 is due to come to an end on 30 th August 2022.
“We remain in open discussion with City of Edinburgh Council as part of the process and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
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