Rural bus services in Powys face the axe unless more people use them, residents were warned today.

Now people across the county have been urged to “use them or lose them”. Powys County Council is currently in the process of looking at all rural bus services it subsidises as part of its annual budget review.

Councillor Gwilym Evans, the authority’s board member with responsibility for public transport, urged people to make use of their local bus service.

“We have had a poor budget settlement from the Welsh Assembly Government for the next financial year and we have to be careful about how we are going to distribute the money,” he said.

He said all rural bus services across the county would be looked at as part of the review.

“We will be looking at all routes and seeing if they are viable to stay open,” said Councillor Evans. 

“Some services may be axed, some could be re-routed and some services may even be added.

“All I can say at this moment in time is that if residents don’t want to lose their bus service, then they are going to have to start using them.”

He said a report was due to presented to board members in March updating them on the “position of all rural bus routes in the county”.

The announcement comes after internal auditors at Powys County Council identified 10 “weaknesses” with the county’s bus service.

Problems highlighted included the inadequate monitoring of drivers’ Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks. 

Internal auditors scrutinised the department running public transport after it put new bus contracts out to tender in July 2007. 

Auditors said some contractors had not submitted documents to the council showing vehicles used for public transport were fit for purpose. 

Council passenger transport manager John Forsey said that a passenger transport unit (PTU) had been set up to help improve the system.

“While it was disappointing to receive such a critical report, the passenger transport unit is committed to addressing the issues raised and taking forward the recommendations in the report,” he said.

“Many of the findings within the report have been addressed by the restructuring of the transport co-ordination unit.”

By Anwen Evans