Bus passengers have been warned “use it or lose it” in a bid to beat swingeing cuts to services in Perth.
Large parts of the city would be “virtually cut off” if Stagecoach were to implement the changes, it has been claimed.
The Perth-based firm had intended to withdraw all services for Craigie and Moncrieffe after 7.30pm but after a private meeting with elected officials, the firm has agreed to spare the majority of the services for the time being.
The number 7 route will be scaled back, however, and will now run hourly on weekday evenings.
Bus journeys will be monitored over the next six months to ensure they remain economically viable.
The deal will not save Sunday services on the 3 and 11 routes, which will be withdrawn from May as they are operated by the council.
Perth councillor Willie Wilson said he would continue to fight the proposed cuts “tooth and nail”.
He said: “Cutting these services would be totally unacceptable.
“It would mean that large areas of our city, including Craigie, Moncrieffe and Burghmuir would be virtually cut off from public transport after 7pm.
“At the meeting I suggested that, instead of introducing these in the spring, we should work in partnership with Stagecoach and community groups to have a six-month period where we could advertise services and encourage the public to make more use of them.
“There is now an agreement that there will be a six-month moratorium on this.
“It will be done on the basis of ‘use it or lose it’ but at least we now have a proper opportunity to assess the situation further in the autumn of this year.
“I will continue to press for this alteration in the plans.”
He added: “We are encouraging more and more people to use public transport and to use the excellent facilities in the city centre, including the concert hall, cafes and restaurants.
“How can people be expected to travel after 7pm or 7.30pm and return home safely unless they are forced to use taxis?”
Andrew Jarvis, managing director for Stagecoach East Scotland, confirmed there had been a stay of execution for some services.
He said: “We have plans to revise some commercial services at the end of March, which were advised to Perth and Kinross council in mid-January.
“Having discussed these plans on Friday February 27, the earliest meeting date the council were able to achieve, we have already agreed some revisions.
“Our original plans included the withdrawal of the few journeys operating on services 5, 6 and 10/10A in the evenings, which were very poorly used.
“Having discussed these plans with public transport unit representatives and councillors on Friday, a solution was reached to retain certain journeys, with partial funding provided by PKC, if this was available, as a subsidy since the passenger numbers did not cover the cost of operating the journeys.
“The extra journeys on service 7 on Friday and Saturday nights, which increased the frequency to half hourly on these days only, will also be withdrawn due to low use, which means there is an hourly service every day of the week in the evenings.”
A council spokeswoman added the axeing of Sunday services on two routes was due to budget constraints.
She said: “To achieve savings in the 2015-16 public transport budget agreed by council last month, we will have to reduce some bus services currently financed by the council. We will contact community councils and local elected members in the relevant area or areas before any changes to services are implemented.”