Hertfordshire County Council currently subsidises a number of bus companies which do not have sufficient passenger numbers to make them commercially viable. In total there are 119 subsided bus services in Hertfordshire and they have been the focus of a consultation that has been running since July and closes on the 8th October 2014. Herts County Council has stated “In the current financial climate, we need to review how we subsidise some bus services. As far as possible, we want to meet the essential travel needs of our residents. At the same time, we need to make sure we’re providing the best value for money for all Hertfordshire’s taxpayers. No decisions have been made yet. We want as many people as possible – whether you’re a bus user or not – to respond to the consultation so we can carefully take your views into consideration before making any decisions. To protect the majority of services we support and the most used services, the County Council is proposing to withdraw funding to services that run after 6.30pm and withdraw funding for services that run on a Sunday. The vast majority of bus services in Hertfordshire are operated commercially by bus operators. Those services are unaffected by this proposal and consultation. Children entitled to free travel to and from school will continue to be provided with transport and we will continue to support concessionary fares for young and older people.”
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