ELDERLY people will be made “prisoners in their own homes” when bus routes are scrapped on May 8, according to Blackburn residents.

Lancashire United, who run the Spot On services, made the decision after Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council pulled a £400,000 subsidy onunprofitable routes due to budget cuts.

Services 13 and 13A, from Mellor to Beardwood, have been withdrawn, as well as the 2A which operates via Guide and the early morning service of 12C.

Other routes will run a reduced service.

John Smith, 64, of Wensley Road, is concerned about the effect the withdrawal of services 13 and 13A will have on his elderly neighbours.

He said: “There are a lot of people in their 70s and 80s in this area and they rely on public transport to get about.

“Removing the bus will cause a lot of distress.”

“The problems began when the Government gave all pensioners a free bus pass.

"It just wasn’t sustainable and now we are seeing bus companies suffering because of it.

"A lot of the people I know wouldn’t have any qualms in paying a reduced pensioner’s rate of something like 50p, rather than getting something for free but not being able to use it.”

Irene Harling, 85, of Whinney Lane, Blackburn, gave up driving two years ago and now relies on buses to get around.

“People in Mellor, Lammack and Beardwood will be left with nothing,” she said.

Marketing director of Transdev Lancashire United, Nigel Eggleton, said the company “reluctantly” decided not to continue with services making significant losses.

On service 13, he said: “It comes nowhere near covering its costs.

"We realise that, if you are one of the handful of people using the service, withdrawal is a big issue.”

“We reviewed the 2A service via Guide two years ago and we were encouraged to give it one last chance.

“But passenger numbers have continued to fall and we can no longer keep it going. It is a similar story in Beardwood and Wensley Fold.”

Lancashire United is to improve ‘key links’, including doubling the frequency on service 2 to the Royal Blackburn Hospital, and a new Shadsworth link.

The changes

Service 2: Used to run half-hourly services from Ainsworth Street, Blackburn, to Darwen bus station, via the Royal Blackburn Hospital (RBH). Now there will be a 15 minute service combined with the number 12 between Blackburn town centre and Newfield Drive, Blackburn. One bus an hour will run to Darwen.

Service 2A: Service from Blackburn to RBH, to Guide and then Darwen has been withdrawn.

Service 9: The Blackburn - Revidge - Lammack circular, used to run half-hourly. Now it will be hourly combined with the Service 9A, the Blackburn to Lammack circular, to give a combined half hourly frequency, off peak Monday to Friday, and throughout Saturdays.

Service 12C: Early morning services, which ran every 30 minutes from 5.32am, have been withdrawn.

Service 13/13A: Hourly route from Blackburn to Mellor Brook via Wensley Fold, Revidge, Lammack, Ramsgreave, Mellor and Mellor Brook withdrawn. Service 9/9A providing a link between town and St Mary’s College.

Service 14: Blackburn to Sunnybower via Daisyfield and Little Harwood. Ran every 30 minutes. Now some early morning and Monday to Friday peak journeys are to be withdrawn (no announcements yet made).

Service 17: Blackburn to Shadsworth via Audley Range. Used to stop at Dunoon Drive and Rothesay Road, Shadsworth, but will be rerouted to now go via Haslingden Road and RBH.

Evening and Sunday services on services 3 and 4, 9/9A, 12A and 12C, 14, 17A will have reduced frequencies, still to be announced.