THE leader of Hampshire County Council is urging a bus provider to think again after it cut services to a sixth-form college in Winchester. 

Stagecoach recently announced that, from September, they are axing a raft of routes to Peter Symonds College. 

The county council is responsible for transport for people up to 16-years-old, but not after that. 

Cllr Nick Adams-King said: “Hampshire County Council has no role to play in either arranging or subsidising transport to college for those in post-16 education. That is entirely a matter for the colleges and the bus companies.

“We continue to urge the college and Stagecoach to find a solution to this challenge which threatens to exclude many of those young people living in Eastleigh and rural Test Valley from the opportunity of studying at Peter Symonds College.”

The leader of Hampshire County Council, Cllr Nick Adams-King (Image: HCC)

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The services being cut are: Old Alresford (currently 64X) - nearest bus will be Service 64 from New Alresford; Whiteparish and West Wellow (currently 662) - nearest bus will be Service 66 from Romsey; Knowle Village (currently 691) - nearest bus will be Service 69 from Wickham; Hatch Warren and Worting (currently 86) - local buses run to Basingstoke railway station; Penwood and Wash Common (currently 86) - no replacement; Newbury and Kingsclere (currently 86) - Service 32 runs to Basingstoke railway station; Ludgershall and Weyhill (currently 851) - use Activ8 into Andover and change to Service 74/75; and Lordshill, North Baddesley and Valley Park (currently 461) - no replacement. 

Peter Symonds College (Image: Contributed)

In a letter to students, staff and parents, James O'Neill, commercial director of Stagecoach South, said: “Most college bus services have been busy this year with high numbers of students travelling. However, a few routes have unfortunately carried far smaller numbers. As the buses operate on a commercial basis, relying on ticket sale income without subsidy, this means some now run at an unsustainable loss totalling over £200,000 in the year.

“The bus industry continues to face challenging costs, particularly for parts, materials and staffing, which are expected to continue to rise at above inflationary rates for the year ahead. This has made it very challenging to cover the running cost of college buses, especially longer-distance routes, where the only income is collected through student ticket sales.

“To address this unsustainable financial loss, we need to make a number of changes for September. We're very sorry for the impact these changes will have on students at the stops we can no longer serve. It is important that the bus network continues to run at a sustainable level to secure our core routes for the vast majority of students travelling to and from college with Stagecoach.”