SCOTTISH Borders Council’s administration has come under fire for refusing to fund a taxi service for residents left isolated by cuts to rural bus routes.

The two evening services of the 101/102, linking Dumfries and Edinburgh via Carlops and West Linton, have been cancelled after the local authority withdrew £100,000 in funding.

However, following a spirited campaign which saw more than 120 West Linton residents attend an emergency meeting, residents and local councillors came up with an alternative taxi-shuttle idea – offering a scheduled collection from the 9.30pm, 10.30pm and 11.30pm buses from Edinburgh to Penicuik.

The taxi could carry up to eight passengers and provide three return trips six evenings per week.

At meeting of the full council on Tuesday, September 25, Tweeddale West councillor Heather Anderson (SNP) asked executive member for roads and infrastructure Gordon Edgar (Ind), to explore the taxi option, saying: “As you are aware from your attendance at the recent public meeting in West Linton with over 120 residents, there continues to be a high level of dissatisfaction in West Linton, Carlops and Dolphinton at the complete loss of any public transport provision after 7.35pm.

“Can you specify what steps the council are taking to explore and provide an alternative evening transport provision for this part of Tweeddale West?”

In response, Councillor Edgar said: “Prior to the meeting held in West Linton, council officers contacted the three main bus companies in the area to see if any arrangements or connections could be made using existing services from Penicuik.

“Borders Buses and Lothian Buses rejected this suggestion to extend any services.

“Stagecoach offered to put back their new service out of Edinburgh to 8.30pm Monday to Saturday at a cost of approximately £15,000 per annum.

“Alternatively, just extending the service on Friday and Saturday would cost £5,000 per annum.

“There was a caveat that the other partners – SWestrans, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Midlothian Council and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport – would need to agree to the change.

“At the meeting in West Linton, this suggestion was broadly rejected by the attendees. There was no visible support for this option, when councillor Anderson asked attendees to mark a chart if they were in favour. It remained blank.

“At the same meeting, officers asked that the community considers a taxi service. It was explained that a similar service already existed in Midlothian and was a good alternative to a registered bus service.

“It was clearly explained that there was no council budget available for this and that the community would need to find their own funding of approximately £18,000 per annum."

Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Anderson said: "I am absolutely exasperated. Ever since the consequences of this budget cut to the 101/102 bus service became apparent, the people in West Linton, Carlops and Dolphinton area have been up in arms.

“Over 3,500 people signed a petition and we managed to save the day time service, but now there is absolutely no public service to this side of Tweeddale after 7.35pm at night.

“The beauty of the taxi model is its simplicity. It doesn’t require the local community to raise funds to buy, service and insure a bus; it doesn’t involve a complicated advance booking system and it doesn’t rely on volunteers to provide the service at pretty unsocial hours for most people.

“This is no-brainer and I am completely frustrated by the council’s lack of vision here.

“The people of Tweeddale West have met 50 per cent of the total savings in public transport this year: a £100,000 cut equivalent to 74 per cent of the previous level of support.

“I’m not giving up. Everyone who thinks the shuttle service would work should contact the administration to make them aware of their views.

“I’ve even asked David Mundell MP for support on this and have been supported by Councillor Eric Small locally, but it’s now time for the Tories to actually do something locally.”