BUS operators could boycott the new transport interchange in Galashiels and be forced to cut services if charges for using it are set too high by Scottish Borders Council.

That warning will be issued to councillors when they met on Thursday.

The 10-year business plan of the £5.2million facility, due to come into operation at the end of June, has estimated that the cost per departure of each bus should be £2.68, excluding VAT.

The figure is based on the projected costs of running the interchange, to which SBC’s capital contribution has been £3.4million, with the £1.8million balance coming from the European Regional Development Fund.

And it dwarfs the 35p which was levied on operators for each departure from the old Stirling Street bus station.

Tomorrow councillors will be asked to subsidise each bus departure to the tune of 93p to bring the fee down to £1.75 – although even that is five times the old charge.

Details of how much this act of largesse will cost the council tax payer are expected to be considered in private session, along with the predicted income and expenditure of a facility which will be open 21 hours a day and be staffed around the clock.

An update on how many tenants, who must pay a service charge to the council of £60 per square metre, will occupy units in the building is also due to be given in private.

However, a public report by project manager Euan Doyle pulls no punches of the potential consequences of not providing the bus subsidy.

“There is a risk that service providers take a similar stance as they did with the opening of St Andrews Square bus station in Edinburgh and boycott the use of the transport interchange because of the departure charge and its effect on the commercial viability of bus routes,” states Mr Doyle.

“Bus service providers have highlighted their concern regarding the negative effect that a charge of £2.68 per bus departure will have…and are suggesting this could compromise the viability of some commercial routes and the council-funded contracted routes.” Mr Doyle offers no guarantees that bus operators will accept the £1.75 charge but he claims it is “defendable” in the context of departure charges throughout the country for similar facilities.

His report reveals that staffing the interchange, which will be run by SBC’s passenger transport department, will account for 48% of running costs. The facility will have a full time manager and a full time senior inspector, along with five part-time inspectors and three security personnel.

The interchange will be open to the public from 5am till 2am and be cleaned and serviced during the three hours of closure.