CHARD residents could be about to see one of their bus services reduced as Somerset County Council opened a consultation into subsidised transport in the county.

The council have included a proposal that the 99 service from Chard to Yeovil is reduced but details of how exactly the timetable will work have not yet been revealed.

The council says it needs to review its allocation of funds for subsidised bus services due to the continuing reduction in government funding.

The council has identified routes for possible reductions based on lack of passenger use, availability on other days of the week, location of alternative services and possible commercial replacement.

A spokesman for Somerset County Council said: "Some buses have low usage, especially when serving more rural areas or running at quieter times of the day.

"SCC needs to make sure that subsidised bus services go where people need them and enable people access to essential services such as education, employment, health services and essential shopping.

The council also say they want to prioritise services from communities where the need for transport is the greatest, and they do not want to duplicate commercial services.

The spokesman added: "SCC have for many years subsidised bus services in areas where a bus service is not commercially viable and an operator would not provide any service without funding.

"The subsidy per passenger journey varies from 29p to £7.18 depending on the service and area covered. Some services cost less than £3,000 to subsidise while others cost over £100,000 per year to provide."

The consultation is open until January 11, to fill in the online questionnaire go to www.somersetconsults.org.uk or call 0300 123 224.