Biggest ever swathe of bus service cuts in Hampshire

9.21.45am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 16th Sep 2005

The axe finally fell on 26 bus services across Hampshire this week. 18 of these services will disappear completely while 8 others will see reductions in frequency. Two more have only received temporary reprieves.

This is a slight improvement on the previous list of 31 services as

Liberal Democrat run Eastleigh Borough Council have stepped in to save

two services /(First 16 Butlocks Heath diversion and Solent Blue Line

44a/ /Eastleigh-Chandlers Ford-Hiltingbury)/ by putting up the cash.

The County Council has also reprieved one service /(Stagecoach 7/

/Basingstoke Black Dam)/ and temporarily reprieved two others "for now"

/(Stagecoach 1 Harestock-Winchester City Centre-Stanmore and Stagecoach

5/ /Winnall-Winchester City Centre-Badger Farm-Olivers Battery)/.

Apart from these few changes the rest will now go. The only two other

services which have any chance now of being saved are /Wilts & Dorset

X71/ and /Stagecoach 26/76/87/ which Test Valley Borough Council may

come up with the cash for - but there is no guarantee of this.

The County Council's own report admits that the services to be lost

(including the two services only temporarily reprieved) currently carry

over 110,000 passengers per year who have no alternative services.

These buses carry many others who can transfer to other buses, but

110,000 cannot.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Adrian Collett said:

"To put anything up to 110,000 extra journeys on our roads at a time

when congestion is getting ever worse is transport madness from a

County Council which has lost its way.

"But of course there won't be 110,000 more journeys on our roads,

because a fair proportion of these people are vulnerable and frail

people who cannot drive or do not own a car. Many of these will be

left isolated to fend for themselves - robbed of their means of getting

to the shops, doctor, hospital or even just to get out and meet people.

This is disgraceful!"