In response to Phil Parker's letter (Oxford Mail, October 27), there has been no collusion between Stagecoach and Oxfordshire County Council about the withdrawal of bus service 20 from Wootton and Glympton.

The contract for diversion of the off-peak journeys ends on December 10, 2005, and was reviewed as a matter of routine with all other subsidy contracts terminating on this date.

Passenger counts are carried out on all subsidised services under review, and these showed an average of 2.5 people per day using the two subsidised off-peak journeys in each direction, at an unsustainable average subsidy of £14.40 per passenger journey.

Stagecoach announced during the review process that if it was unsuccessful in retaining the off-peak contract, the commercial peak journeys would also be withdrawn.

Surveys of these journeys revealed no users from Wootton or Glympton, and it was therefore decided that these should not be replaced after withdrawal on December 10.

However, Wootton and Glympton will still have a bus service. From Monday, December 12, RH Transport service 220 will provide a service to Woodstock from Wootton and Glympton from Monday to Friday.

The bus will leave Glympton at 0934 and Wootton at 0938, arriving in Woodstock at 0947.

The bus will return from Woodstock at 1125, arriving at Glympton at 1134 (on request) and Wootton at 1140. This service will be operated by a minibus, rather than the full-size vehicles which currently serve these villages and often have difficulty negotiating the narrow lanes in the area.

TIM DARCH

Public Transport Assistant

Oxfordshire County Council