The decision to cancel the last remaining bus service in a Norfolk village has been criticised by councillors,and branded 'unacceptable' by a town mayor.
Last month Konectbus announced it would withdraw its X6 service between Norwich, Attleborough, and Thetford, which currently runs every two hours, Monday to Friday.
However, despite being the only bus to serve Great Ellingham and the surrounding area, the X6 will cease to operate from Monday December 9.
The bus company said the service did not attract enough passengers to continue running, but people living in Attleborough and surrounding villages said the decision would have a serious impact on their ability to get to the city.
Gina Hale, who lives in Great Ellingham and works on Riverside in Norwich, said: "I don't have access to a car and taxis to and from Attleborough are £8 each way, which I don't have the budget for. All we want is a bus in the morning and a couple in the evening so people can get to work and students can get to college."
READ MORE: Villagers fear being 'cut off' as only bus service axedTheir plea to Konectbus to overturn the decision has been backed by a number of local councillors, including Attleborough town councillor Keith Montague, who blamed roadworks for the poor passenger count.
He said: "The X6 service seemed to be well used, but the extensive road works and extension to Thetford, caused reliability problems and changed times have not helped.
"With the significant number of new houses in the town and surrounding area, it was hoped that bus services would be expanded. It is extremely disappointing to see the X6 being another casualty for the town - especially at a time when there is so much publicity to get people out of polluting cars and onto public transport."
Town mayor Tony Crouch added: "Attleborough is going to double in size and is in line to have over 4,000 houses built, it is not only disappointing but unacceptable this valuable service is being cut and I would like to ask Konnectbus to urgently rethink on this."
The council is in the process of drafting a formal response to Konnectbus.
Konectbus have been approached for comment.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here