A CONSULTATION on transport schemes across Hampshire has been branded as “disgraceful” by Labour councillors.

Hampshire Country Council (HCC) has put forward a proposal make changes to public bus services and to switch off street lights for part of the night in a bit to make savings of more than £1 million.

As previously reported in The Gazette the county council has been going through a ‘balancing the budget’ initiative as it looks to make savings of £140 million before April 2019.

However, these new proposals, which includes fewer proposed bus routes and introduction of a 50p charge for single journeys made using an Older Person’s Concessionary Bus Pass.

The proposals have been condemned by Basingstoke Labour councillors who say that the county council has “reneged on its promises” to support services in the borough.

Leader of the Basingstoke Labour Group, councillor Paul Harvey said: “The idea that the county council wants to charge and reduce a vital service for OAPs in our borough is disgraceful.

“People rely on buses to get them around and may not have the luxury of being able to drive. If you are reducing a service people need to get across town it just isolates people even more.”

He added: “We all know that this 50p charge won’t stay like that and it will just be another money-making scheme for Winchester.”

One of the proposals put forward by the county council is to turn off street lights at certain times of the night which it believes will bring a saving of £230,000.

Executive member for environment and transport at HCC, Councillor Rob Humby, said: “We’ve had to look hard at all services the county council provides to close the funding shortfall brought about by reduced funding for council services and rising demand for social care for both adults and children.

“We are, therefore, having to consider how we reduce the subsidies we provide to support those bus services which are not commercially viable to contribute to these savings.

“Our priority is to direct resources to where they are most needed, and I’m pleased to say that the county council’s cabinet agreed earlier this year to protect the community transport service which provides vital support for elderly and disabled residents in particular.

“For some time, I’ve been working with Hampshire’s bus operators to discuss how, between us, we can reduce the impact of our budget pressures on supporting bus travel. Bus use in Hampshire is close to a 20 year high, and the vast majority of journeys are made on commercial services operating without any public subsidy at all. However, even though 89 per cent of bus services in Hampshire run without public subsidy, the pressure on the County Council’s revenue budget means we can no longer afford the level of subsidies we have provided in the past. It’s important we hear people’s views so we can make informed decisions. It may be that service frequencies on subsidised routes are changed, or the days on which some services run, so we particularly need to hear from the people who use these routes what they think about potential changes.”

To have your say on the consultation visit hants.gov.uk/aboutthecouncil/haveyoursay/consultations/publictransportandstreetlighting.