A six week consultation on proposed changes to bus timetables across Powys has seen a mixed response from residents.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Economy, Residents and Communities scrutiny committee on 18 June, councillors received a report on the consultation responses.

The consultation took place between 2 January and 13 February, with the council receiving 601 responses.

People who took part in the consultation had been asked to comment on several questions including the arrangements for specific Powys towns, including ticket cost, marketing, current bus usage as well as potential Sunday and Bank holiday use.

Changes to bus timetables need to be finalised ahead by 4 July so that they can take effect from 1 September.

The majority of people in Machynlleth and Llanidloes who responded to the consultation backed the changes, with 32 out of 50 in Llanidloes supporting the changes and 39 of 52 respondents from Machynlleth in favour.

The current local bus network costs the council £5.442m a year, but this sum does not account for extended operational hours or Sunday services.

Council officers have prepared two options for cabinet members to consider at a future meeting.

Option A would provide for longer distance services connecting hub towns and then travelling on to bigger towns and cities that Powys residents need to get to for health, education and other services that are not available in the county.

This option requires an extra £2.354m on top of the £5.442m up to 2031 and one off funding of £1.752m.

Option B is “do nothing” to the existing network, but nine extra school contracts and a re-tender of the T14 route will need to be added.

This requires an extra £1.498m on top of the £5.442m up to 2031, and one off funding of £375,000.