It is very small sums of money, but we are in a position where we have to make savings

Councillor Eric Ross

The closure is part of a package of measures which are aimed at saving the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority (SPT) almost �80,000.

SPT chairman Councillor Eric Ross told BBC Scotland that its funding came from the government and local authorities which were "somewhat strapped for cash".

He said: "This is a proposal which will go to the authority in February and the authority will make the full recommendation.

"They are very small sums of money, but we are in a position where we have to make savings and these are part of the package of savings."

Councillor Ross said West Street was a "very quiet" station.

Money-saving move

"There are no houses in the near vicinity, it is mainly retail and industrial," he said.

"There are subway stations on either side of West Street within half a mile."

In addition to the partial closure of the station, the car parks would also be shut as part of the money-saving move.

However, SPT's performance monitoring committee has rejected proposals to increase fares on the underground.

Its members agreed on Thursday to freeze the price of a single journey at 90p.

Fares decision

The authority's meeting in February will be asked to ratify the proposal along with the entire budget package.

Councillor Ross said the fares decision was good news for the travelling public.

"It is essential that more people are encouraged to use public transport and it is a key role of SPT to do this," he said.

"Despite the difficulties facing our budget it was decided that it would not be prudent to increase the underground fare and that we should do all we can within our means to get more passengers using the subway."