BUS services in Hampshire are set to be axed and timetables reduced in a move that residents fear could leave communities isolated.

A total of four services in the county will be withdrawn completely, bus company First has announced – and another 12 will be cut back from October 16.

Wickham has been particularly affected by the cutbacks with two of the village’s services being axed and journeys reduced on a third service.

Affected Routes

Pick up a a copy of the Southern Daily Echo today for a a full breakdown of all the routes affected by the cuts.

Elsewhere, the number 28 bus that runs between Locks Heath, Whiteley and Fareham will no longer run to Fareham Community Hospital and two afternoon school services have also been withdrawn from St Anne’s School to Lordshill and Hamble School to Sholing.

Some elderly residents in Wickham will now become isolated, fears Sue Roger- Jones, vice chairman of the parish council.

She said: “We have quite a few elderly people who don’t actually have cars and they do rely on the bus – there will be some people who will be completely cut off.

“We understand there has got to be cuts, but this is one we were very disappointed with.

“What makes us so annoyed is that these planning applications come in and you can only have parking for one car – but if two people are working in a household you can’t manage with one car, especially if there’s not a bus service. Parking is a big problem here and now the bus service is being reduced as well. It seems like a vicious circle.”

There was dismay in the Lordshill suburb of Southampton about the cuts.

Babs Rodgers, committee member at Lordshill Community Centre in Andromeda Road, said: “It’s terrible that they are going to cut the service. This is going to put children at risk, if you make it harder for them to get to school.”

City councillor Don Thomas, who represents the Coxford ward, said: “Any cut is a bad thing, but it is an imperative service for children. Now the girls will have to do a bus change which makes them vulnerable.

“It always seem to be places like Lordshill on the outskirts of Southampton that are getting more and more isolated, especially for the young and the elderly. Not everybody has cars.”

The changes are a result of Hampshire County Council cutting bus subsidies by 45 per cent in an attempt to save £1.1m this year.

In turn, the council has been hit by a 33 per cent drop in the rural bus subsidy grant paid to them by central government.

First’s route development manager Simon Newport said: “While most of First’s network in Hampshire is operated on a commercial basis, some journeys – usually those running early in the morning or late in the evening, or on Sundays – have historically been supported by the council.

“The financial pressure that local authorities are now under though has meant some difficult decisions have had to be made with councils reviewing the support they can offer bus services. The situation is difficult, but through working closely with the council over the past few months we have done what we can to minimise the impact as much as possible.”

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