AS the clerk to a number of parish councils, and as a local newsletter editor and Hereford Times correspondent, I have circulated details of Herefordshire Council’s proposed changes to local bus services to as many residents as possible. It can often be very difficult to get a public reaction to anything put forward by the council, but on this occasion I have received a number of letters and e-mails from people who object to the planned reductions and the apparent need to lower the bus subsidy by 58 per cent.

A reduction in the availability of buses would fly in the face of the Government’s call for ‘green’ initiatives. The whole purpose of the recent introduction of free travel passes for the elderly was to encourage them to use bus services and it seems perverse to give free facilities with one hand, whilst taking them away or severely limiting them with the other.

Having read through the letters and comments I have received, it is apparent that there are many elderly people living in Ullingswick, Pencombe and other outlying villages who have no transport of their own and who rely almost totally on their local bus service. To quote from one resident: “This bus is our lifeline and I really don’t know what we are going to do without it. I am so worried. Please do what you can to save our lifeline. Thank you.”

There is a suggestion that some routes are under-used but I would suggest that the degree of use should be weighed up against the importance of having a readily available and reliable means of transport that helps people to maintain their independence and to get on with their everyday lives.

It is accepted by most of us that council tax has to pay for an incredible number of local services and often involves subsidies to those who need them. Those of us without children contribute towards education costs on behalf of those that do.

Those of us who live in rural areas without local facilities, without street lighting and with the only obvious return being a weekly rubbish collection contribute towards the more intensive services provided in the larger conglomerations. Local bus services are desperately needed by a number of people. To reduce or to remove all such services from Pencombe, Ullingswick and other villages is wrong and will present untold difficulties to elderly residents who could otherwise be house-bound. This is surely a case where subsidies are needed and are much deserved and it would be better to encourage bus use rather than make them less accessible.

MARTIN FIELD, Burley Gate, Hereford.