A consultation on the future of the bus service launches today as Herts County Council tries to save almost £1.5 million from its budget.

The council’s initial proposals to cut evening and Sunday services have been modified on the back of last year’s consultation.

County Hall is now suggesting it will withdraw funding from services after 7.30pm rather than 6pm.

It also plans to withdraw funding from contracted services on Sundays, except for routes going directly to hospitals which would run until 7.30pm.

The council says only two per cent of people in the county will be affected by the new changes.

If approved later this year it will save HCC £1.471m and change 760,000 journeys. This number is less than the 890,000 that would have been altered under previous proposals.

Councillor Terry Douris, cabinet member for highways, said: “We are committed to engaging with as many residents and stakeholders as possible. We are proposing a later cut off point for contracted services to 7.30pm rather than 6.30pm and will protect services that directly serve hospitals on a Sunday up to 7.30pm.

“We have also listened to residents’ comments about the amount of money we give to individual passenger journeys and are seeking to establish a clear, value for money approach by setting a limit on the amount of subsidy we provide to individual journeys.”

The consultation closes on April 10. To have your say call 0300 123 4046 to request a paper copy or visit www.hertsdirect.org/busconsult.

The findings of this consultation will be reported to the highway panel in May before a decision is made by cabinet. Any changes will take effect from September 2015.