The True Cost of Hertfordshire County Council’s Bus Consultation

Yesterday at County Hall, Hertfordshire’s Conservatives failed to listen to two motions asking them to call a halt to their planned £1.7m of cuts to bus services in the County.
After consulting with the public earlier this year and 13,000 people asking them to stop their planned cuts, the Conservatives decided to ignore the resounding “No” they had received from the public, and start another round of consultation for further proposed cuts.
Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Leader of the Lib Dem Group on HCC commented, “The Conservatives at County Hall have admitted that the consultation they have chosen to ignore, cost local taxpayers over £16,000 for printed materials.
“What they haven’t disclosed is how much the Council Tax payers of Hertfordshire have paid out for the salaries of the five staff who worked on this full-time for 4 months. Instead they could have been working with local bus operators, user groups, the NHS and local Councils to find ways of improving bus services and usage, as well as reducing costs.”