CONTROVERSIAL cuts to weekend and evening bus services in Hampshire were rubber stamped this afternoon.

Changes to the times pensioners can use their bus passes were also given the green light.

Transport boss Sean Woodward formally moved ahead with £1.2million cost cutting plans that will also see some services reduce in frequency.

Pensioners will now only be able to use their bus passes after 9.30am from April next year.

But Cllr Woodward said he is exempting older bus users in rural areas where there are no other buses until after 10.30am.

Speaking after his decision day meeting, Cllr Woodward said as well this he also aimed to avoid axing routes.

But he admitted some would lose out.

He said: “People who have lost out clearly are on buses with very few people on.

"I don’t think most people would expect that in this day and age you could keep a bus running with one or no passengers on one journey.

“That was the situation in some evening and Sunday services we were in.

"And there is a significant amount of people living in the Daily Echo circulation area which is rural and the choice was either remove some weekend or evening services journeys or remove their services entirely and leave people with no bus.

“It is very difficult. Savings have to be made but we just have to preserve as much as humanly possible bearing in mind that 85 per cent of services are commercially run and totally unaffected.”

There will also be changes to bus services as a result of subsidy cuts.

This includes:

Eastleigh

The 6 Southampton – Hamble

- Sunday funding axed The 7 and 8 Bishops Waltham – Eastleigh/Southampton

- Saturday service would be reduced from hourly to every two hours.

The 8A Southampton – Hedge End – Botley.

- Funding for both of these sections of route will expire in 2015. Current passenger use would not be commercially viable, so high probability contracted services would cease at that point.

The 15 Hedge End – Hamble

- To operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only.

The 17 Bishops Waltham – Petersfield

- Currently it runs two days a week with lower passenger numbers on the Saturday service, so it is proposed that this will be withdrawn leaving the Wednesday service.

Fareham and Gosport

The F1/F2 Fareham – Highlands

- Withdraw funding for the Sunday service.

The 11 Fareham – Gosport – Alvertstoke

- Withdraw Saturday service

The 21 Fareham to Hillhead

- Will not go to Lee-on-the-Solent and will not run on Saturday evenings;

The 28 Fareham – Whitley – Locks Heath – Warsash

- To be combined with number 26, meaning the Locks Heath to Warsash section of the route would be withdrawn as passengers use the faster and more frequent X4 and X5 services. Newtown resident will be provided with taxi-share.

Romsey, Totton and Waterside

- The X7 Southampton – West Wellow – Salisbury.

Subsidy be withdrawn. It is anticipated that most journeys will be retained at the busier times in the middle of the day, but that lower used journeys at other times may be reduced in number

The 34 Romsey – Sherfield English – Salisbury

- Wiltshire Council is withdrawing its funding; therefore this service will be reviewed and may be revised once the new commercial X7 timetable has been declared by the operator

The 35 Romsey – Halterworth – Braishfield/Ampfield

- May need to be reviewed and revised with Service 34 and 39, once the new commercial X7 timetable has been declared by the operator.

The 39 Nomansland – Wellow – Romsey - May need to be reviewed and revised with Service 34 and 35, once the new commercial X7 timetable has been declared by the operator.

The T3/T4 & 11 Totton – Cadnam

- Funding for peak extensions to the commercial 11 service be withdrawn due to low passenger numbers, typically 5 to 6 each way on Mondays to Fridays, fewer on Saturdays. T3/T4 services would be reduced to 3 days a week to reflect passenger use.

The H1/H2 Hythe local service

- Reduced to 3 days a week to reflect passenger use.

The 8 & 9 Calshot – Fawley

- Funding for peak hour extensions to commercially operated service be withdrawn as passenger usage data indicates that the journeys are poorly used at 0 to 3 per journey. Off-peak commercial service unaffected

Winchester

The 1, 3, 5 & Spring Winchester City

- Funding for these early evening services (1900 – 2100) is to be withdrawn.

Stagecoach does not wish to provide these services on a commercial basis as passenger numbers are very low.

The 2 & 6A Oliver’s Battery/Hyde – Winchester

- Service to be reduced to three days a week and combined with service 63.

The 46 Winchester – Southampton General Hospital

- The service will reduce from 5 or 7 to 4 journeys each way between Winchester- North Baddesley only. The section of route between North Baddesley to Southampton General Hospital will no longer operate, due to low passenger numbers, approximately 12 per day each way.

The 63 Owslebury – Winchester

- Slight changes in times, but with the retention of a three day a week service as currently operated.