'˜Watershed' moment on bus finance is discussed
Councillor Rob Humby, from Hampshire County Council met with First, Stagecoach and Go South Coast over the cost of subsidising routes.
The council is set to cut £140 million to close a budget gap by April 2019. Cllr Humby said it was a ‘watershed’ but passenger numbers were increasing and only 13 per cent of routes were subsidised.
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Hide AdHe said: ‘The well-publicised pressure on the county council’s revenue budget means we can no longer afford the level of subsidies we have provided to operators in the past.
‘We know a reduction in services would raise concerns across the county, as residents told us in our recent ‘Serving Hampshire’ consultation, but we are in a difficult financial position.’
He said together the council and firms need to ‘maintain the levels of public transport service, while reducing dependence on public subsidies’.