Buses between South Oxhey and Watford were axed because not enough people were using them, according to a bus company.

Arriva has faced criticism after they axed the popular 503 service, which ran from Watford to Hemel Hempstead, at the end of August.

But the bus company has defended the decision, saying that not enough people were using the services to cover the costs of running the buses.

Richard Lewis, Arriva’s Regional Publicity Manager, said "The frequency of buses between South Oxhey and Watford town centre had been reduced as the number of people using the services provided was insufficient to cover the cost of running them every fifteen minutes.

"Like all bus companies, Arriva is a commercial business that is required by law to operate profitably and where demand is insufficient to cover the cost of providing a service it is the responsibility of the local authority to subsidise a service if they consider there is a social need. We are not able to run loss-making services.

"We are, however, aware that certain journeys may have an issue with loadings and are looking into increasing capacity."

The decision to axe the 503 follows on from Hertfordshire County Council’s consultation which looked at axing funding to 52 of the county’s 119 bus routes.

Dozens of routes are under threat as county politicians look to slice £700,000 from the subsides that prop up bus services across Hertfordshire.

The number eight service, which is operated by Arriva and Redline Buses, runs once every half an hour. 

Official documents show that the number eight is one of the services which is facing a possible cut in its subsidy. 

Last week, Roy Telfer, of Puttenham Close told the Watford Observer that Arriva need to be "woken up to fact that their service is just not suitable for the people of South Oxhey".

He said: "When the bus gets down to where I am, it is always full up.

"One elderly lady was waiting for a bus at another bus stop, but she could not get on. She had to wait another half an hour for a bus.

The 85-year-old who also has spinal arthritis, added: "Last week I had to stand up and lean against the wall and I had to hold on as tight as I could, otherwise I would have fallen down.

"There was a chap with two crutches who had to stand. One passenger offered him a seat but he had to push his way through the bus to get to it.