Local bus services are likely to face harsh cuts in the new year budget, a councillor has warned.
The council subsidises bus services, mainly in rural areas such as Councillor Borrowman's Armadale and Blackridge ward which includes a swathe of hinterland from Westfield to the Bathgate hills.
Armadale's Independent councillor Stuart Borrowman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The council's supported network is budgeted at £1.7m in the current year. The bus subsidy allocation is unlikely to survive the council budget in February intact."
Councillor Borrowman and his colleagues regularly field questions about bus services in the county even though the council pays for around only 20% of bus mileage in West Lothian. The lion's share is a commercial operation and the council has no control over it.
In addition, where commercial services exist, the Transport Act states that the council cannot compete with these services.
"I have a very full mail-bag of complaints about buses running very late, not running at all or stopping short of their destination because the driver is over permitted hours," said Councillor Borrowman.
The council has contributed to service upgrades including real time information services for the network and offers subsidies on routes which serve people in population centres such as Bathgate and Broxburn as well as connecting rural areas to towns.
In Councillor Borrowman's ward following the withdrawal of Lothian Country service 280, registered local bus service provision in the Armadale area currently meets the council's policy in ensuring residents have access to an hourly or better bus service available between 7am and 7pm Monday - Saturday. The commercial X25 ensures that this criterion is being met.
The near £2m annual buses bill supports the subsidised network. The single biggest item is the 31 circular route through Torphichen. That costs £375,000 a year.
Subsidy per journey ranges from £1.56 for the Bathgate to Boghall Saturday service to £20.28 for the 449 Bo'ness-Torphichen-Bathgate.
The council also pays for bus services over the festive period.
New companies and new services have been introduced into West Lothian this year but, nationally, commercial operators continue to struggle with shortages of drivers and services have been affected.
Communities including Fauldhouse and Blackburn have also seen services withdrawn because of attacks on buses by youths and damaged vehicles.
So acute was the problem earlier this year that the police launched a decoy bus operation, with officers travelling on services in a bid to trap vandals. The operation met with limited success but did result in arrests for underage drinking.
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