Herts CC - Bus Services Face £880,000 of Cuts

At Tuesday's meeting of Herts County Council, the Liberal Democrat group fought to save local bus services from swingeing cuts planned by local Conservative politicians.

Lib Dem County Councillor, Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Watford: Central & Oxhey) said "We need full and detailed information to make sense of these budget cuts and what they will mean. The proposals to cut all services on non-commercial routes on Sundays and after 6.30 pm on any day will have wide-reaching implications.

"It might be that there are other options we could consult on, such as fare changes, rather than these massive cuts affecting 200,000 passengers a year on 39 different routes."

St Albans County Councillor Sandy Walkington commented "This will impact not only young people and the elderly, but also commuters who rely on bus services to and from train stations and who will often get back from London well after 6.30 pm. Together with the removal of any support for services on Sunday, these cuts place a curfew on some of our residents"

Sadly the Conservatives forced through a motion that totally ignored the practical reality of what these cuts will mean for those not served by commercial bus routes.