VILLAGERS are protesting at plans to cut what they say is a vital and well-used bus service, linking them to Oxford.

Oxfordshire County Council has published changes to its subsidised bus routes, due to come into force from Sunday, December 9.

And one of the changes will be axing the Monday and Thursday services between Longworth and Oxford. On other days, the last bus back to the village will be cut from 5.30pm to 3.30pm.

Jackie Luckett, who lives in Longworth and regularly uses the bus, said: "We won't have any buses in the village at all on Monday and Thursday.

"They've also changed the timetable so you can't meet up with the X15 to Abingdon from Southmoor."

She said the buses were well-used, particularly by older members of the community, and said it would cause major problems for people who relied on the services to get to Abingdon or Oxford to work.

She said: "We are forever told to use public transport but people in Longworth aren't given a chance, they are not being given an option.

"Some of the pensioners in Longworth will have to walk a mile to Southmoor to get anywhere.

Mrs Luckett uses the bus to get to work, in a residential home in Abingdon, and was planning to increase her hours, to work every day. But she says the changes will make it impossible for her to to do so.

She added that her mother-in-law, Patricia Luckett, 62, works at the same nursing home and would also struggle to get to work.

Among the other changes to the bus services are extra services between Didcot and Wantage, between Chilton and Didcot, between Grove and Milton Park, and between Wantage and Faringdon.

Ian Hudspeth, Oxfordshire County Council cabinet transport spokesman, said: "We subsidise buses to the tune of £3m across Oxfordshire.

"What we have got to try and do is achieve the best value for money for everybody. What we look at is the number of passengers that use the service and the cost per passenger per mile.

He added: "If there is a service which has a very high cost per passenger we have to see if there are alternatives. And obviously, in this case, there doesn't appear to be.

"We do try to encourage bus journeys wherever possible but we have to get the best value for money right across Oxfordshire."