Sir – In November, 3,400 residents in Ascott-Milton- and Shipton-under-Wychwood lost their direct bus to Witney. The county council has saved an hourly service as far as Burford, but there passengers must change to a different bus to complete their journey. Different operators run the two buses, with no through ticketing.

In May 2015, a five-year contract will replace the temporary six-month one. The Wychwoods will still have a bus, but the county council will not guarantee that it will be hourly. And passengers will still have to change at Burford, unless perhaps Stagecoach wins the contract and chooses to merge the service with its Burford– Witney–Hanborough–Woodstock route.

Leafield’s 950 residents have a bus to Witney only once a day and only four days a week. Leafield is only four miles from Witney but the county council “cannot afford” a more frequent bus.

In Vale of White Horse, the county council is reviewing all subsidised buses before awarding new contracts to start in May 2015. It says it will cut subsidies and may reduce the frequency of some routes.

4,000 people in Grove have no direct bus to Didcot. There was a subsidised one until 2011, when Thames Travel tried to run it without. This made a loss so in 2013 Thames Travel withdrew it. Users protested, but the county said it “could not afford” to reinstate the subsidy. But the county council “can afford” £150,000 for councillors to increase their allowances by 19 per cent? Green and Labour councillors voted against the rise, but a majority of Conservatives and Lib Dems voted for it.

Few Oxfordshire buses require a subsidy as high as £150,000. Councillors have prioritised their own allowances over bus users in Ascott, Milton, Shipton, Leafield, Grove and anywhere else in Oxfordshire with an inadequate bus service.

Hugh Jaeger, Chairman, Bus Users Oxford