Motions calling for a halt to proposals to make up to £1.5m of cuts to the county’s bus services were thrown out by council chiefs.

Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors proposed separate motions to Hertfordshire County Council pleading for the Conservative-led authority to put the brakes on plans to slash spending on the buses.
But both motions were rejected at County Hall last week.

Labour called the decision a "disgrace" with the Lib Dems accusing the Tories of ignoring residents and the outcome of the council’s own public consultation, in which just 30 people supported the plans.

Councillor Nigel Bell said: "It’s a disgrace that our motion to stop the bus cuts has been rejected by the Tory majority at County Hall.

"We are determined to stand up for residents in towns across the county, like Watford, against the Conservatives adopting these cuts due to them accepting the policies of their coalition government." 

Lid Dem parliamentary candidate Sandy Walkington said  after the meeting: "The tone of the debate at County Hall just confirms that the ruling Conservative administration at County Hall has an ideological determination to cut buses come what may.  

"We showed that they have made the savings they sought, and that there is a window of opportunity to sit down with bus operators and plan the future.  Instead they are determined to spend more money on another public 'consultation' when their rhetoric shows that they have already made their minds up. They just don't seem to understand the real impact of their proposals."

Councillor Terry Douris, cabinet member for highways and waste anagement at the county council, rejected both parties’ claims and said the proposed cuts would affect just two percent of all journeys.

He said: "I don’t believe it is a disgrace and we have not yet made any decisions, other than to go out again to public consultation to refine the proposals.

"It’s important to stress 760,000 journeys out of 35,500,000 would be affected, at a time when the bus operators do not believe they are commercially viable.

"It might be important to those on the buses but we have all seen only two or three people on some routes."

He added the second consultation will ask residents whether or not they support the plans and the reasons for their answer. 

County Hall’s revised plans include cutting about £1.5m from the bus budget - more than double the original level of proposed savings.

It also includes cutting funding from contracted services after 7.30pm Monday to Saturday and axing cash for services on a Sunday.

Routes serving hospitals will be protected up to 7.30pm on Sundays.

The proposals will be put before Cabinet on December 15. If they are approved, the consultation is expected to be launched in January.