AN OPPOSITION councillor has called for county public transport to be a priority for the council as more houses are built in Hereford.

Cllr Bob Matthews, an Independent county councillor, was speaking at the cabinet meeting of the council, which agreed on the recommendations from the passenger transport review.

The meeting was told that rural bus services will be protected for the next three years, despite the council needing to make saving of £740,000.

Cllr Matthews said with the need to build more than 16,000 houses in Herefordshire by 2032 there would be a higher demand for public transport.

He said: "Public transport is going to be a must, otherwise our roads will be totally clogged. I think we should be building on that and make sure we keep a vital service in place."

The consultation on public transport in the county revealed that of those who responded 80 percent travelled by bus at least

once per week. When asked what alternative mode of transport they would use if their main bus was no longer available, 34 percent said they would travel by car, either driving or as a passenger and 29 percent said they would have no alternative.

When asked how much impact the withdrawal of their bus service would have, 81 percent of respondents indicated that it would have a high impact.

The cabinet meeting also heard the importance of making the public aware that the bus services are subsidised by the council and if further savings from the transport budget were required, a reduction in subsidies would be necessary, which would result in the part or full withdrawal of some or all supported services.

Leader of the council, Tony Johnson, said: "Cllr Paul Rone is doing a lot of work to make people understand it is a 'use it or lose it' situation we are in."

Cllr Philip Price asked that when all council departments are looking at bus services they are thinking about the proposed transport hub, which will be built near to the Hereford Railway Station on the inner city link road. There is a proposal of real time bus information at the transport hub.

The council has created an video which shows an artist's impression of how the inner city link road and the land either side of it could look. Visit our website, herefordtimes.com to view the video.