He wants the Government to provide funding for councils to run their own bus service to prevent further cuts.

Mr Smyth said: “Services across the region have been in decline for more than a decade, and so have local government budgets.

“An independent report that went to this month’s meeting of SWESTRANs warned the situation is going to get worse.

“A summary of the report notes that “the fragile position of the bus industry in Dumfries and Galloway is acute; resilience is at a historic low and the risk of further degradation is significant” and that “any withdrawal of service…capacity would have a major impact.”