Bus services carrying fewer than five people are to be axed following a new  strategy decided by Essex County Council.

The new policy would mean that generally the council (ECC) would not support journeys leaving after 10pm Monday to Friday, 11pm on Saturday and 7pm on Sunday, subject to exceptions for journeys which regularly carry six or more passengers on average.

It means some Sunday bus services operating across Essex are set to be reduced.

And two evening services are to be withdrawn altogether – the number 21 between Bocking and Black Notley and the 418B between Harlow and Loughton – as they currently cost more than £5 per passenger journey.

The Sunday policy would additionally mean that the services that ECC did support on Sundays would run at a minimum two hourly frequency.

Those Sunday services that are affected include the 351 between Chelmsford and Brentwood and the 71C between Chelmsford and Colchester.

It currently costs the council £635,000 to contract out its Sunday services and around £1.2million for evening services.

Cllr Julie Young said: “There seems to be little in the rationale or practical argument to support the reduction of ECC Sunday routes to a two hourly service on the best used routes.

“How can the proposed reduction of service on these routes be justified?

“Support costs are likely to increase if customer numbers fall so instead of increasing bus usage you will be reducing it.

“I do think this is the wrong way we should be going. We need to consider the effect of climate change and we must do all we can in this chamber to encourage the use of buses and not make it more difficult.”

Cllr Ray Gooding, cabinet member for education, said: “I do think of climate change is clearly one we need to take into  account and obviously driving empty buses around the countryside  is not a good way of helping that issue.

“We really do need to  get more people onto buses and actually shaping the service so it’s available at the time they want to travel to the places they want to go is the most important part of that.

“I think this policy sets that out and actually has had quite significant support in terms of a consultation.”