Bus bosses fear vital government grants which kept routes running through the Covid pandemic are about to come to an end - amid national predictions up to a third of services could be axed.
A series of coronavirus lockdowns and government instructions that people should work at home meant bus passenger numbers in Norfolk slumped.
The government brought in a temporary grant to help keep buses running - the Covid-19 Bus Services Support Grant, some of which was paid to operators to support commercial services.
That grant ended in August last year and was replaced by the much smaller Bus Recovery Grant to take into consideration how passenger numbers had been rising, with County Hall given £790,000 to distribute.
That grant will end completely at the end of next month.
And advocacy group the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents the bus and coach industry, has warned that will create a £350m funding gap - and could mean a third of bus services may have to be axed.
Bus operators in Norfolk admitted they are concerned that "difficult decisions" could be needed - but are optimistic that passenger numbers are climbing back up.
Jeremy Cooper, managing director of konectbus, said: "We have had constructive dialogue with Norfolk County Council, who subsidise most of our bus routes.
"We are hopeful that passenger numbers will recover quickly now so that we won’t need to make difficult short term decisions."
He said it was difficult to draw a direct comparison with current passenger numbers compared to pre-pandemic levels.
He said that was due to contract changes, but said numbers had "picked up significantly" over the past 10 days.
Steve Wickers, managing director at First Eastern Counties said; "We are still awaiting confirmation from central government on the date when funding will cease to support local bus services whie they have worked through the pandemic restrictions.
"We are doing everything we can to encourage people back onto the bus network but presently we are still only experiencing around 70pc usage from people who used bus services before the pandemic hit.
“We are constantly monitoring the travel patterns of people who are travelling with us and we are continuing to operate services to match demand. It is too soon to determine what if any changes may need to be introduced to the network when funding ends, however we are hopeful that as restrictions are being lifted, more people will start to return back to using our services over the coming months.
"If any adjustments are required in due course we will keep everyone informed in advance.”
Martin Wilby, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport at Norfolk County Council, said: “We have written to the minister for transport and the treasury to express our concern about the potential consequences of grants ending in April without something else in place.
"Bus operators, like many other sectors, have faced significant challenges throughout the pandemic and the government support has been welcomed. However, passenger numbers are still below pre-covid levels as people begin to get back to normal, and costs have risen.
“We will continue work in partnership with bus operators to help them find ways to run their services while advocating on their behalf at a national level.”
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