A long-awaited public inquiry into bus company City Sprinter will be held next week.

Its only service from Glasgow’s south side to the city centre was unexpectedly pulled off the roads in July.

The 38 had run from Eastwood Toll in Giffnock to Renfrew Street and back again every ten minutes, carrying hundreds of passengers every day.

Many were left out of pocket after paying up front for weekly and monthly tickets costing £10 and £30.

Commuters who relied on the service to get to work were left standing at bus stops on July 2 before drivers for other bus companies told them that there were no City Sprinter buses on the roads.

The firm’s drivers and mechanics who turned up for work at the depot on the day were told they were out of a job.

City Sprinter is currently listed on the Companies House website as “active” but it also states annual returns for 2014/15 are a month overdue.

Accounts for 2013/14 state that the firm posted losses of more than a quarter of a million pounds in that financial year.

City Sprinter’s then owner John Healey said at the time the bus service stopped that he had to pull the plug because the company simply “couldn’t afford to run anymore”.

He added: “We’ve been struggling for a while now, trying to run against First Bus. It’s impossible. Last week they had seven buses out to every one of ours. It’s just been an uphill struggle.”

The Evening Times later revealed that the Traffic Commissioner had raised concerns about the “lawful operation” of the fleet.

When these concerns were not resolved the commissioner contacted Police Scotland and a probe into the company was launched.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said at the time they are “looking into the operating procedures of the company” but they later handed the investigation back to the Traffic Commissioner.

The licencing authority had summoned the owners of City Sprinter to a hearing in Edinburgh on August 2 but it was postponed at the last minute.

A spokesman for the commissioner said yesterday the inquiry has now been rescheduled.

He said: “the City Sprinter public inquiry will be held on November 18 2015 at 10am at the Office of the Traffic Commissioner in Edinburgh.”

The owners of City Sprinter could not be contacted for comment yesterday.