REGARDING the announcement by North Yorkshire County Council on rural "lifeline" bus services facing cutbacks: a percentage of our council tax money is to provide these services and everybody benefits from them.

Why should we, the public, have to lose out yet again?

How will the senior citizens who rely on public transport in these rural areas travel when there are no buses due to cutbacks?

Chancellor Gordon Brown announced in his last budget free travel for all senior citizens.

Who will compensate this loss to bus companies? Maybe this is the reason why First York has recently increased its fares to compensate its losses.

Mrs J Johnson,

Shipton,

York.

Updated: 10:05 Thursday, January 19, 2006