BUS users looking to travel from Swindon to Chiseldon in the evenings will have to make alternative arrangements in 10 days as a vital service is to be axed.

It was announced back in June that Wiltshire Council planned to cut its funding from the 70A/72A service, which passes through Old Town, Great Western Hospital and Chiseldon, as part of a savings drive.

After the removal of the evening service, the last buses from Marlborough to Swindon will leave at 8pm between Mondays and Fridays, Saturdays after 6.55pm and Sundays after 5.20pm.

The last buses from Swindon to Marlborough will depart at 5.55pm between Mondays and Fridays, Saturdays after 5.55pm and Sundays after 4.30pm.

Despite best efforts from ward councillors to save the service, the parish council was told this week that sadly the bus provision will be removed on August 14.

Councillor David Hill, who is transport representative on the parish council, said: “The changes are going to be quite a quandary for some parents who have children at school, especially those who have finished their GCSEs and will be moving to one of the colleges because a lot of their work includes evening classes.

“There are no buses at that time. The only thing is that there is a bus to Great Western Hospital up until 10pm then there’s taxis to get back here or parents will have to share the responsibility.

“We have always had some evening bus service and Thamesdown Transport have done a very good job in providing a service because people have been able to use the 11pm bus and come back from the theatre or cinema. Now they will have to pay for car park charges, putting more vehicles on the road.”

Under the new changes, bus services in the Great Bedwyn area and the Connect2Wiltshire Pewsey to Devizes service will also be reduced in frequency.

The move is part of the council’s plan to develop what it terms ‘long-term sustainable services’.

Around 97 per cent of journeys were retained, but savings of £500,000 were required from less well used services The council funds half of the bus mileage in the county by £4.5m per year, as this portion is not commercially viable.

Various operators provide the remainder of the network on a commercial basis.

It is not the first time that Chiseldon has faced bus cuts where only last year residents started a petition against proposals by Salisbury Reds and their X5 service, between Salisbury and Swindon, to no longer call at any of the stops in Chiseldon.

But despite this latest axe due to low numbers of users, the parish council hope to encourage more passengers, particularly those with a concessionary card to make sure their journey is recorded as these numbers are used as the basis for judging a service’s viability.

Coun Hill said: “The parish council and borough council have been really trying to get some form of service. This service that will be stopped is sponsored by Wiltshire Council. We thought we were going to lose our Sunday service but they kept that and got rid of the evening service instead.

“I have seen the figures and there are very few people using it which is a pity. If you only have one passenger from Swindon to Marlborough, you can’t really keep it going.”