In the last few weeks, my mother, along with many over 60s, has received a letter from the Vale of White Horse District Council stating that it is scrapping many of the discretionary elements of the free bus pass scheme.

No longer are Vale residents able to travel within Oxford (except for journeys to the hospital) or use park-and-ride services.

This will severely affect local residents who may find their bus pass useless for their needs.

It will particularly affect the people in part of my ward in South Hinksey, where there is no bus service and where one of the nearest stops is in Oxford.

I understand the reason for this change is that many more people have taken up the offer of the free bus pass than expected.

If the Liberal Democrats had any sense, they would have known that the percentage of those who took up the pass would have been high because it is free.

Surely anybody could have foreseen that! This slash in services should not be a surprise.

In February, before the local elections, the Conservatives warned that the Lib Dem budget would lead to service cuts.

The Conservatives pledged to invest £150,000 more to cope with the increased popularity of the scheme, but this was rejected by the ruling Lib Dem group.

At the budget meeting in February, the Lib Dem leader, Jerry Patterson, said that the service would continue as normal. He should now accept that he misled the council and the public or badly miscalculated his figures.

The time is long overdue for the Lib Dems to apologise profusely for not carrying out the promise they made in their election literature in the May local elections.

Yet again, the Lib Dems have done what they do best - to renege on their promise!

GARETH JENNINGS (Councillor) Kennington and South Hinksey ward Vale of White Horse District Council