A SATURDAY bus service between Braintree with Great Bardfield and the surrounding villages is being cancelled.

The number nine bus, which links Braintree to the villages of Great Bardfield, Finchingfield, Wethersfield, Shalford, Panfield and Bocking, will cease to run on Saturdays as of next week.

The decision follows a consultation by Essex County Council involving thousands of residents over the past year about how to spend £8 million of taxpayers money around the county.

Regal Busways' number nine service is one of four "low use" services across the county that will come to an end as of the end of the month.

Ray Gooding, Essex County Councillor responsible for passenger transport, said: "Like all local authorities, Essex is facing strong financial pressures and has to think very carefully about how it delivers the best value for the taxpayer.

"We have spoken to residents over the past year about how best to spend the money we have to support essential bus services.

“During this latest redesign we found that supporting some less well used bus services could have resulted in taxpayers contributing more than the price of a flight to Lanzarote each time somebody used the bus. That is clearly not sustainable in the long term.

“The good news is that this was true of very few services as most services are well used and supported by their communities."

The move will see the council shift to more of an emphasis on solutions such as a demand responsive transport system, a flexible service that must be booked by travellers in advance.

Visit http://bit.ly/2imwXch.