Over 500 bus routes hit by cuts and 10 councils with no supported buses, say campaigners

Over 500 bus routes have been reduced or withdrawn this financial year after cuts of £30m and now 10 councils have no supported services at all, according to the Campaign for Better Transport.

The campaign group's latest research, based on over 100 Freedom of Information requests, suggests that supported bus services were cut by a further 11% compared to 2015/16, taking the total reduction to 33% since 2010, it said. Oxfordshire has withdrawn 118 services, according to the survey, which also indicates that ten councils in England and Wales now have no supported bus services: Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington, Cumbria, Stoke-on-Trent, Luton, Southend-on-Sea, Cardiff, Neath Port Talbot and Wrexham.

The CBT said: "When you cut off bus routes, you cut off opportunities. Many people are severed from jobs and education, friends and family, shops and public services - including vital medical services." And it urged people to lobby MPs to get a strong Bus Services Bill to halt the decline in bus services, a campaign boosted as The Mirror picked up the story.