Is there no limit to the butchery which the austerity-mongers at County Hall are determined to inflict on our public services?

Not content with planning to close the recycling site at Elstree, they have now come up with a plan to abolish all funding for bus services which run after 6.30pm on weekdays, or at any time on Sundays. This is contained in a paper presented to Hertfordshire’s highways and waste management panel on Tuesday.

Already, there are no buses from Borehamwood to Shenley, Radlett, London Colney and St Albans at these times. The effect of this plan would be to remove all buses to and from Bushey and Watford, as well as those within the town to Stapleton Road, Stanborough Avenue, Grove Road, Brook Road, Furzehill Road, Farriers Way and Arundel Drive. The only remaining routes would be the 107 and 292, which are not contracted by Hertfordshire.

The county council has published a bus strategy document which stresses the economic, social and environmental benefits of buses. They are particularly important as a means of combating social exclusion, as they offer mobility to people who have no access to private motorised transport, many of whom are teenagers or people aged 60 plus.

This document identifies 20 key ‘bus corridors’ in the county on which the council plans to concentrate its resources in order to maintain services. One of these, ironically, is identified as that from Watford to Borehamwood. If even this will only qualify for services during the daytime on weekdays, what hope can there be for bus users living elsewhere?

At a meeting of the town council’s transport and road safety forum, bus users turned out in force to voice their dissatisfaction with the services that now exist. None of the town’s three county councillors turned up, so it was left to an officer of the county council to try to defend the situation. Not surprisingly, he did not reveal that instead of the infrequent and unreliable services complained of, the outlook in many areas is for none at all.

Meanwhile, a committee of Hertsmere District Council has been looking at local transport infrastructure. Its report concludes that more buses, not fewer, are the best way of reducing traffic congestion and coping with the pressure which will be created by new housing developments in the town.

Like the county council, Hertsmere can fund socially necessary bus services which are not supplied commercially. But it has paid nothing towards buses for several years. Now it has a chance to put its cash where its mouth is. Failure to do so will confirm the hollowness of its pretensions.

John Cartledge

Haddon Close, Borehamwood