FURTHER cuts to Chard and Ilminster bus services have been labelled “distressing” and “alarming.”

Changes to the First Bus number 30 service, with buses every 90 minutes rather than every hour, come into force in early April, but concerns have been raised over the effect this will have on vulnerable people at risk of becoming “isolated”.

Andrew Turpin, district councillor for Tatworth and Forton, told the News the continuing decline in bus services needs to be addressed.

He said: “The effects will be really quite drastic and serious to those dependent on public transport, of whom there are many.

“I’m very concerned how this is going to affect the more vulnerable people in our community.

“People are going to be left waiting for buses – not just people who need to get to Chard from Tatworth, but bus users from Chard and surrounding areas who need to get to hospital appointments in Taunton.

“My concern is it’s just part of a slippery slope, having already lost our early morning bus.

“People are isolated here in Tatworth and Forton, and one wonders what’s going to happen next.

“Public transport seems to be turning into something from a bygone era.

“This isn’t an issue just affecting people between Axminster and Taunton, but swathes of Somerset residents. This is a commercial route, not subsidised by the county council so they can do what they like with it.

“In fairness to First Bus they’re doing their best to improve things, but this is a real setback.

“What’s alarming me is that people are retiring here and generally finding when they’re no longer able to use a car that they’re isolated and alone.

“This needs to be seriously addressed because it’s a form of social deprivation.”

Tatworth resident and cancer patient Jill White echoed Cllr Turpin’s concerns, saying villagers are being left behind.

She said: “I’ve needed to get to Taunton a lot and to get to a mid-morning appointment at Musgrove Park Hospital I have to get the 7am bus, and I might not get home until 2.45pm if I’m relying on the bus.

“You already can’t leave this village on a Sunday, so if you rely on public transport you can forget about socialising or taking your children because you can’t get back after 6pm.

“I don’t buy it that it’s service-driven either because sometimes it’s standing room only on the peak buses.”

A First Bus UK spokesman said: “The changes to service 30 will result in the frequency of buses going from hourly to every 90 minutes during the main part of the day, but there will be no changes to the route itself.”