RURAL bus services could be under threat as Wiltshire Council looks to make more savings in its transport budget.

A county-wide consultation will go out later in the year detailing which services are to be slashed as the council plans to cut subsidies to bus services by around ten per cent.

It is expected some rural routes, which are deemed not to be profitable enough, will be scrapped meaning the community may have to step up to provide the service.

These schemes, in which volunteers drive the buses, can apply for council grant funding to get going. The review will also look into home-to-school transport, social care transport and concessionary fares, which have already been cut back.

Almost one-third of bus passengers travel for free, with bus companies reclaiming the money from the council.

Cllr Philip Whitehead, cabinet member for transport, confirmed the council was looking to expand community transport within the county saying it was about getting the most “services for the pound”.

He said: “The review will find out how people are using services.

"We know budget reductions will come and we don’t want death by a thousand cuts so it is about creating a sustainable service.“ We are doing an open review and every single comment is valuable.”

Leader of the Liberal Democrat group Jon Hubbard described the cuts as “inevitable” following a “savage” reduction in central government budgets.

But he supported the idea of community-run services, saying his group proposed a “community transport champion” based at county hall during his alternative budget in February.

At a city council meeting last week, Andrew Wickham from Go South Coast said Wiltshire Council was among those cutting the least from its transport budget.