A West End councillor is demanding Dundee City Council reveals how much it spends on subsidising individual bus routes in the city.
Liberal Democrat Fraser Macpherson made the call as part of his campaign to maintain the 204 bus service that runs between the West End and Ninewells Hospital.
It is estimated the service requires an annual subsidy of around £20,000.
However, Mr Macpherson said he had been given “contradictory” information from Dundee City Council on how much it spends on bus routes.
In a report to the Scottish Government, the council’s figures suggested an underspend of £182,000 on bus services.
Mr McPherson said he was then told the estimate had been “overstated” and the actual underspend was just £37,000.
However, the council then informed him that by the end of the year it had actually spent more than it had budgeted for on bus services.
Director of city development Robin Presswood told Mr McPherson the council spent £420,000, £28,000 more than planned.
Mr Macpherson said the authority was “in a total mess” about its correct position on bus service finances.
“I have had three contradictory sets of figures in as many days. It is an utter shambles and utterly disgraceful that the mainly elderly folk who rely on Bus Service 204 should lose their bus which is a vital service for them,” he said.
“I cannot help but think that Dundee City Council on this issue could not organise a bun fight in a bakery.
“I have now asked for a breakdown of what the council has actually been spending on each bus service so I can work out the budget expenditure for myself. How can anyone have confidence when presented with three sets of contradictory figures in the same week?”
A Dundee City Council spokesman said: “The council has a long and positive track record of stepping in to subsidise bus routes across Dundee that we regard as socially important, but which are not considered economically viable by the bus operators.
“That commitment to ensuring that people can access public transport is on-going and in the current financial climate needs a variety of solutions, many of which might be new and innovative, like the free to use Blether Bus.
“During the last financial year Dundee City Council spent £420,000 supporting bus services in the city, £28,000 more than was budgeted for, and the fact that the money was found from savings in other services demonstrates our continuing desire to help people in the city to travel in the most convenient and sustainable way.
“In 2018/19, 97% of residents said they were satisfied with public transport services in Dundee, up from 95% in 2015/16.”
