THE withdrawal of a regular bus service from Okehampton to Tavistock has been described as the ?thin end of the wedge? by Tavistock town councillors. Members at last week?s full council meeting said the loss of the 9.30am service, which operates six days a week, was completely contrary to the Government?s green policies. The service is run by First and is subsidised by Devon County Council. Cllr Ted Sherrell said: ?It might just be one service but this is the thin end of the wedge. ?We should kick up as much fuss as we can about this. ?It?s at a time when we are all being told to reduce our car journeys.? Members were told that the route was part of the Barnstaple to Plymouth service. Cllr Philip Sanders said this was likely to be the first bus of the morning that people with a bus pass could use ? and for those travelling to Derriford Hospital to see relatives, it would be a real hardship. He also said that people who wanted to walk on Dartmoor on a Saturday would probably use the service to start their walk from either Tavistock or Okehampton. ?They keep chipping away at a number of little areas but over a period of time I do not expect this will be the end,? he said. Simon Newport, commercial director of First Devon and Cornwall said: ?The 9.30am journey from Okehampton was operated by First under contract to Devon County Council. ?First operated a school contract prior to this journey and the same driver and bus operated the journey from Okehampton. ?Unfortunately, as a result of declining students, the council has changed the way this contract operates and as a result, we no longer have a vehicle or driver available to operate the journey from Okehampton. Mr Newport said First apologised to passengers who had been inconvenienced by the change. A spokesman for Devon County Council said the situation arose from First Devon and Cornwall surrendering certain contracts. ?This one was for a nearby schooltime service ? and the same vehicle ran the 9.30am Okehampton to Tavistock. It?s therefore separate from the all-day service 86 on that route. ?Unfortunately, the cost of replacement could not be justified in relation to the level of use. Whilst not seeing these as being so convenient, we were also mindful of alternative departures from Okehampton at 8.35 and 10.33. ?Without re-casting the entire 86 service, it would not at present be possible to have a Tavistock-bound vehicle passing through Okehampton any nearer to 9.30. The journey time being 50 minutes, there is still a choice of return shopping times from Tavistock ? at 1.25, 2.25, 3.25 and 4.50.?