THE tender to operate the 101/102 bus route from Dumfries to Edinburgh goes out next Friday.

A spokesperson from Stand Up For Our Buses (SUFOB) said: “Following a very constructive meeting between the new lead partner, Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT), SUFOB, some local councillors and Bus Users UK, we now know for sure that the new 101/2 contract will go out to tender as of October 31 – only a week away.”

Back in late July a massive campaign, which garnered 10,000 signatures on a petition, saved the service from ending on August 14.

A SUFOB spokesperson added: “As yet, we have not seen any formal community consultation from any of the five local authorities along the route.

“Presumably it will happen, but the clock really is ticking.

“When SUFOB launched its 101/2 ‘whole route’ survey the week before last, we were quietly hopeful it would get 300, 400, at a push maybe even 500 responses.

“Never did we imagine that within the first week alone, almost 1,200 people would have completed and submitted it.

“A huge thank you to each and every one of you – your collective voices, opinions and ideas is giving real weight to our campaign to retain and improve the 101/2.”

Today is the final day to complete the survey which is here: https://bit.ly/101-102-buses

At Upper Tweed Community Council’s (UTCC) meeting on Monday, secretary Stephanie Jackman said: “We might save the bus but what sort of service will run on the route?”

UTCC member Tess Goodwin said: “As a fairly frequent user of that bus, in the middle of the day, I have noticed it has been very busy.”