Councillors have agreed to attempt to convince bus companies to accept a cap on how much they reimburse them for concessionary bus fares.

Norfolk County Council is already facing a �4.5m shortfall because the government allocation of �7.3m falls way short of the �11.8m cost of paying back bus companies for running the concessionary travel scheme.

This has led to the launch of a Fair Fares campaign, which has so far been backed by more than 13,000 people. The county council and bus operators agreed to share some of that shortfall by limiting the amount the bus companies were reimbursed to �10m last year.

And at a meeting of the cabinet yesterday, members agreed to give Graham Plant, cabinet member for planning and transportation, the green light to attempt to negotiate a similar cap this year.

There are 180,000 pass holders in Norfolk and the shortfall in funding means the county council has already axed an extra discretionary hour which previously saw pass holders get free travel from 8.30am, rather than the current 9.30am.

People can sign the county council's Fair Fares petition at any county council library or at either King's Lynn or Norwich bus stations. They can also sign the e-petition at www.norfolk.gov.uk