I am a resident of Hemingbrough and am concerned for the welfare of this community at the changes that are to take place regarding the local bus service.

I have friends and acquaintances who use the buses on a regular basis and rely on them to get to work and home. This change will mean that they may even have to pack up their jobs or move house to keep a job.

What a frightening position to be in for young couples with mortgages, the elderly who need to do shopping, the children who can get to school but will not be able to join in with after-school activities.

Reading about these events make me think, is this a way in which Arriva has sacrificed a local service so that they could buy those new buses for the more profitable runs in York? Surely if they had invested in a more traveller-friendly service it would have been used more.

Many villagers would, I am sure, love to leave their car at home and attend concerts in Selby Abbey or whatever evening activity they indulge in, but this is not possible because there are no late buses.

I know that businesses can’t operate without profit and covering their costs, but surely they also need to take into consideration their customers’ needs and meet them, and that would generate profits if handled with common sense and consultation.

Barbara Sim, Villa Close, Hemingbrough.