A HAMPSHIRE bus company is to slash services this month - and has blamed a free bus travel scheme for elderly people for the cuts.

Solent Blue Line says it is being forced to scrap up to a dozen services in the Southampton area by a countywide scheme that means pensioners travel for free. The announcement comes just weeks after another Hampshire bus firm, First Bus, revealed further cutbacks to its services.

Phil Stockley, area director for Eastleigh-based Solent Blue Line, said that while the timetable had been improved on main routes, reductions elsewhere were the result of the concessionary fares introduced last April.

"I would rather not be having to tell you about service cuts," he said.

"It's not the way we get the image of public transport up. We want it to be people's number one choice to get around."

He hoped the cuts were a one-off.

Bus campaigners have criticised the reductions.

Dr Caroline Cahm, Hampshire-based president of independent lobby group Bus Users UK, said: "We've been warning this sort of thing was going to happen.

Ironic "It's ironic that senior citizens are going to have to have free passes but won't have the service to use them on."

Dr Cahm blamed the government for failing to provide enough grant to cover the scheme.

The concessionary fare scheme is expected to cost Southampton City Council about £3.6m next year.

Southampton City Council transport boss Cllr Jill Baston said: "We are now seeing the results of the inadequate government funding for the bus pass.

"The grant was for local travel, which is what the Southampton pass provides.

"The Hampshire bus pass provides wider travel but the funding is spread very thinly."

A Hampshire County Council spokeswoman added that the authority was in talks with Solent Blue Line to reduce the effects of some of the proposed timetable changes.

A nationwide scheme will be launched in April 2008 with a further £250m per year earmarked to fund it, the spokesman added.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said that the government cash for concessionary fares was only intended to cover free off-peak travel and it had invested £350m in 2006/07 and £367m in 2007/08.

About 10,000 Daily Echo readers signed a petition backing our campaign to call on the government to maintain the free passes.