MORE than half of public transport passenger trips planned to be cut in Devon are now proposed to be restored, following widespread public consultation.

Devon County Council had originally planned to reduce passenger trips by almost 400,000 this year to save £1.7 million, but it is now proposing to reduce this to just under 170,000, after talking to communities across the county.

Out of a total of 4.5 million annual passenger trips on all of Devon's supported services, it means that more than 96% of passenger trips on Devon's supported network would carry on unaffected by the revised proposals which were due to be put to Devon County Council's cabinet yesterday (Wednesday).

Following a 12-week public consultation earlier this year, in which more than 2,600 questionnaire responses were received along with a number of other letters, e-mail and petitions, a number of amendments have been made to the proposals while still achieving the necessary savings.

Among the revised proposals, it was being recommended that there are no reductions to Service 9 Barnstaple to Bishops Tawton, Service 55/56 Tavistock to Walkhampton, Service 98 Tavistock to Yelverton, Service 157 Exmouth to Sidmouth, Service 658 West Buckland to Barnstaple, and Service 898 to Ashburton.

Stagecoach would continue to operate a half-hourly service of the Service D, Exeter to Digby, on Saturdays on a commercial basis.

The £100,000 Community Transport Fund set aside by the county council would continue to be spent on bus service support and gradually transfer to community groups as and when community-based initiatives are established.

Funding would be used to retain town services in Crediton and Ottery St Mary two days a week, and a daily shopping-time service on Service T to Topsham Quay for the remainder of the current financial year so as to give community groups further time to consider taking on these routes.  

The evening services on Service 5 Exeter to Crediton, Service P Exeter and 8E Barnstaple to Roundswell were being proposed to continue in their entirety. The Sunday services on Service 39 Exeter to Newton Abbot were proposed to be saved, while evening and Sunday services on service 70/77 Newton Abbot to Highweek and Service 99E Exmouth to Brixington are also recommended to continue.

However, a number of services were still being recommended for cuts, including withdrawing financial support for Service 11/75 Tavistock to Barnstaple (Sundays), Service 82 Exeter to Tavistock, Service 187 Okehampton to Gunnislake, as well as Fare Car F9 in the Tiverton area, Fare Car F12 in the Okehampton area and Fare car F17 in the Kingsbridge area.

The withdrawal of services for non-entitled school pupils was recommended to proceed, as it is not part of the council's statutory provision.  

Councillors were being recommended to reduce funding for Shopmobility on a phased basis, with the aim of making schemes self-sustaining, possibly using external funding.

In response to comments made during the consultation, it was recommended that proposed changes to free travel using the National Bus Pass before 9.30am and after 11pm are not implemented from April 1, 2016.

Councillors were being recommended to refer the revised proposals to the county council's place scrutiny committee, prior to final decisions being made by cabinet at a later date.