ALTON’S deputy town mayor has been promoting an eight-week consultation into changes to public transport subsidies and street lighting hours.

Allan Chick told residents during a visit to Alton High Street last Tuesday that they have until August 5 to complete the Hampshire County Council survey, which is looking at ways to close the funding gap brought about by reduced funding for services and rising demand for social care for adults and children.

One of the areas under review is looking at ways to reduce the subsidies the county council provides to support bus services that are not commercially viable.

With lack of bus services a major concern for many Alton residents, Alton Town Council is encouraging passengers to contribute to the survey.

While Hampshire County Council has been working with bus operators to discuss how to reduce the impact of budget pressures on supporting bus travel, the executive member for environment and transport, Rob Humby, said cuts have to be made.

“Bus use in Hampshire is close to a 20-year high and the vast majority of journeys are made on commercial services operating without any public subsidy at all. However, even though 89 per cent of bus services in Hampshire run without public subsidy, the pressure on the county council’s revenue budget means we can no longer afford the level of subsidies we have provided in the past.”

The county council is looking to save £700,000 by making changes to financial support for public transport services by:

* Reducing the frequency and/or days of some supported public bus services. In East Hampshire, subsidised services include the number 13 Liphook/Alton/Basingstoke service; 28 Bordon local service; 38 Alton to Petersfield service; 206 Alton to Bentley; 208 Alton to Medstead; 240 Ropley to Alresford; and 250 Liphook local service;

* Replacing some supported public bus services with alternative forms of community transport, such as Taxishares and Call and Go;

* Reducing the amount of printed material and making better use of electronic information;

* Reducing the amount of support available to organisations that provide, promote or support transport services;

* Removing the use of the dlder peole’s bus pass on Taxishares, Dial-a-Ride and Call and Go services.

While Hampshire County Council currently has a statutory responsibility to issue older and disabled people’s passes to provide free off-peak travel on public bus services, pending a possible change in law, the county council is also seeking views on the introduction of a 50p charge for single journeys for concessionary bus pass holders.

Community Transport schemes, such as Dial-a-Ride, Call and Go, Taxishares and minibus group hire schemes, are not included in these proposals but people will be asked whether the discretionary discount for holders of older people’s bus passes on community transport should be continued.

The county council is also asking residents their views on proposals to switch off some street lights for two or more hours during the night.

Currently, energy for street lighting costs approximately £2.7m per year. Since 2010, the county council has reduced the brightness of street lights, predominantly in residential streets and with the greatest reduction after midnight. By the end of 2018, the authority will have more than halved its energy consumption compared with 2010, saving approximately £2m per year.

There is limited scope to save more money by dimming street lights further, but £230,000 per year could be saved by switching off street lights for part of the night.

The questionnaire is available online at hants.gov.uk while paper copies are available from Alton Town Hall or by calling 0300 555 1388.