THAMESDOWN Transport has refused to comment on rumours that the bus company is to be sold.

The company is fully owned by Swindon Borough Council and it is believed an emergency meeting will be held this week to decide its future.

The company’s financial difficulties have been well reported in recent years. In 2014 it suffered a huge financial loss of nearly £400,000, £30,000 more than expected, which was put down to an increase in driver’s wages and the need to fix an ageing fleet of buses.

A statement in Swindon Borough Council’s 2015/16 accounts reads: “Thamesdown Transport trading conditions continue to be challenging, and should the organisation face financial difficulties in the future, elected Members would state the degree of commitment of the Council and the Council’s willingness to meet any accumulated losses would be established at that time.”

Despite that, councillors insisted it had a “bright future”.

Thamesdown Transport is operated as an arms-length company, which means while the council is the sole owner, it does not have a say in the day-to-day running.

It is rumoured that public transport providers Go-Ahead have shown an interest in acquiring the company, though they too refused to comment.

Founded in the 1980s, Go-Ahead has been transformed from a small bus operator in north-east England to an organisation providing more than a billion journeys by bus and by rail each year.

The question over the Swindon company's future comes just over a week after Thamesdown announced the largest overhaul of its bus services in over a decade across Swindon.

Thamesdown’s commercial director Peter Oliver was keen to stress the benefits brought to customers by including a direct connection between Highworth and the Orbital Shopping Centre and a bus to the Great Western Hospital every ten minutes.

He said: “The thing I am most excited about is the service running from Highworth and Orbital because that is completely new and hopefully it will be a success.

“It is in the interests of the company, its workers and passengers to run a network that people want to use and are happy to use and we hope these changes encourage that.”

The company was formed by the former Thamesdown Borough Council as required by the Transport Act 1985.

Anyone who has further information is asked to contact the newsdesk on 01793 501774.