THE deterioration of bus services in Abbots Langley was condemned at a meeting of Three Rivers District Council on Tuesday.

THE deterioration of bus services in Abbots Langley was condemned at a meeting of Three Rivers District Council on Tuesday.

The council unanimously agreed the recent changes in bus services have led to confusion and have caused inconvenience and hardship to residents.

Councillor Stephen Giles-Mendhurst said: 'What cannot be accepted is the way whole communities are being cut off without consultation, purely for the profit of bus companies.

'In parts of Abbots Langley there is no service to Watford General Hospital. That is a disgrace.'

Arriva, whose timetable changes provoked anger last month, came in for particular criticism.

Councillor Paul Goggins said: 'Arriva has let down all their customers, especially the elderly, the infirm and children. Many children cannot get to school by bus now unless they get up at the crack of dawn.

'There was an older lady on our patch who took two and a half hours to get from Watford General to Abbots Langley.'

The council instructed Mr Alastair Robertson, its chief executive, to write to the senior manager of all local bus companies, requesting that residents are consulted before bus routes are changed, and to the Passenger Support Unit of Hertfordshire County Council, asking it to ensure all bus stops have copies of new timetables and maps before changes come into force.

A spokesman for Arriva said: 'We are aware that services seven and ten are suffering timekeeping problems. Work is already in hand to rectify this as quickly as possible.

'Although the direct link between Abbots Langley and Watford General Hospital was lost when services changed, the individual frequencies between both points and the town centre have not changed and changing bus is easy at adjacent stops in the town centre.

'Unfortunately, it simply is not possible for every part of the town to have a direct link to the hospital.'