In brief:
- A report to Council Executive next week seeks agreement to extend their contracts
- In addition to the council's 11 subsidised local bus contracts, two further local bus contracts are in place using developer contributions. Developer contributions (DCs) are financial contributions provided to councils from applicants to mitigate the impact of their housing development on the existing local infrastructure
- DCs are used to establish a local bus service in a new development area with a longer term view to moving towards a fully commercial service should the passenger usage create commercial viability
- Winchburgh and Calderwood are both Core Development Areas and the council put in place legal agreements with both Stirling Developments and Winchburgh Developments to fund local bus services which began in October 2023
- Council officers are recommending that the extensions are approved
The two services are:
- X27 (Bathgate - Edinburgh via Deans North, Knightsridge, Ladywell, St John's Hospital, Craigshill, Livingston Centre, Dedridge West, Mid Calder, East Calder & Calderwood)
Funded by: Stirling Developments (Calderwood). The service hascarried an average 1,578 passengers over the contract term to date.
- 72 (Fauldhouse - Kirkliston via Longridge, Whitburn, Blackburn, Seafield, Eliburn, St John's Hospital, Howden, Livingston Centre, Pumpherston, Uphall, Broxburn & Winchburgh)
Funded by: Winchburgh Developments the service carries an average of 25,226 passengers per month and has shown steady progress since its inception in October 2023.
In detail:
Council officers have conducted an analysis of developer funded contracted local bus service performance and have noted growth and stability in the contracts since their commencement in late 2023. Officers have also modelled the costs of extending the contracts for a final year until October 2026 and confirmed that this can be met within available budgets. It is anticipated that these services would continue on a commercial basis after this date. It is therefore recommended that officers progress with contract extensions.
A final decision will be made at Council Executive next week, which you can watch live on the council's website
