Council chiefs will consult residents for a second time about plans to slash £1.5m from the bus budget.

Hertfordshire County Council’s Cabinet agreed on Monday to consult the public on whether it should withdraw funding from bus services.

The current proposals include withdrawing funding from subsidised services after 7.30pm, Monday to Saturday, and axing subsidised Sunday services - except those routes that directly serve hospitals.

Councillor Terry Douris, Cabinet Member for Highways and Waste Management, said: "Thank you to everyone who responded to our first consultation, signed petitions and wrote to us - this information has been helpful in shaping revised options for this new consultation. 

"Based on the feedback we received during the first consultation, the revised options we are now proposing as part of a new consultation include a later cut off point for subsidised services, protection where possible for routes that directly serve hospitals and establishing a value for money approach when supporting local bus services. 

"Despite having already made some savings, the future funding gap remains an ongoing challenge. This consultation will enable us to make informed decisions about how to make the savings needed in the future, while balancing the needs of bus users and all other taxpayers. 

"We will have to make some difficult decisions in the months and years ahead, but we have to prioritise how we spend our money to deliver the services that are most needed and we have to do this within our budget.

"I must stress that although there is a clear reference in the consultation to a financial impact, no final decision will be taken until the completion of the consultation and after a period of evaluation. Final proposals will then be brought to Cabinet for a decision."

More than 13,000 people have signed petitions against the plans.

Opposition councillors have accused the council of "ignoring" the views of residents - after just 30 out of 4,548 responses to the first consultation broadly supported the idea of slashing the bus budget.

Critics have also pointed out the council had already made its initial targeted saving of £700,000 before that was increased to £1.5m.

But Councillor Douris rejected claims the council was not listening and told the Observer earlier this month the second public consultation would include a question in which residents could back or reject the plans.

He added: "It’s important to stress 760,000 journeys out of 35,500,000 would be affected, at a time when the bus operators do not believe they are commercially viable."

The consultation will begin in January. Visit www.hertsdirect.org.