BRAVEHEART cast member Gerda Stevenson has joined the campaign to preserve a “lifeline” rural bus service, which is threatened by a council’s decision to cut its subsidy.

One of the most respected stage and screen actors in Scotland, Stevenson joined 150 protesters – five per cent of the population – in the village of West Linton in the Borders at the weekend.

They gathered with local politicians at the bus stop in the village to demonstrate against the plan by Scottish Borders Council (SBC) to withdraw its £135,000 annual subsidy for the 101/102 route between Dumfries and Edinburgh.

Later the same day, a group of protesters gathered at a bus stop in Biggar which is also going to be affected.

The 101/102 service travels through Dumfries and Galloway, South Lanarkshire, Scottish Borders and Midlothian before it reaches Edinburgh. It links rural communities as far apart as Carlops, where Stevenson lives, and Beattock and Moffat via Biggar, Coulter, Abington and Crawford.

It is the only bus service for many of these communities.

Only SBC is withdrawing its subsidy but without their contribution the other partner authorities will not be able to preserve the service, either in whole or part.

SBC has suggested they could divert an existing service to create a link to a service at Penuick.

The council’s executive member for roads and infrastructure, Councillor Gordon Edgar, said: “The council is carrying out a subsidised bus services review, which is aiming to make required changes – with budgets tighter than ever – while minimising the impact on passengers.

“As part of this review, the council has made partners aware that it intends not to continue with its current contribution to the 101/102 service as of August 2018, which stands at £135,000 per year.

“The council is currently considering its options, one of which is to extend the 93 service from West Linton to Penicuik and create a connection with the X62 service which runs to and from Edinburgh. This would ensure travel opportunities are maintained for communities while providing considerable savings for the council.”

Gerda Stevenson called this proposal “totally unacceptable”.

She said: “My daughter has taken the X62 bus service regularly from Penicuik to Peebles and back for almost three years, under both First Buses and Borders Buses. It is slightly better under the latter but it can be a frustratingly erratic service – early, late and sometimes doesn’t even turn up. The service is so unreliable that I always wait with my daughter to ensure the bus has arrived. In winter we freeze in rain, wind and snow waiting for the X62.

“It’s an unworkable, budget-cutting notion, thought up by people who do not understand the reality of what is actually involved, and do not appear to actually care.

“The current bus service needs to be maintained and improved, not cut, forcing people to buy cars. Surely SBC cannot be promoting such an environmentally irresponsible way forward? And the worst case scenario – that people have to leave the area due to lack of transport, resulting in a collapse of local infrastructure. It’s appallingly short-sighted.”