AN investigation into Worcestershire's worsening bus services has been launched by angry politicians - who say the cuts have gone too far.

Worcestershire County Council is going to review the state of the public transport network after widespread concern the public are being short-changed.

The work, which could last six months, will examine whether the current £1.6 million of taxpayers' cash sunk into propping up routes is meeting the "socially necessary needs of Worcestershire".

It comes after bus services came under fresh attack today, with councillors saying too many people are left stranded due to routes being axed or buses not turning up.

A former Tory cabinet member has even suggested the Government should take some blame, saying councillors should write to MPs to lobby for more cash, while one Labour politician claimed the problems go back as far as 1986 when buses were de-regulated.

In the last two years bosses at County Hall have shut Worcester's Perdiswell park and ride and slashed its yearly buses subsidy, from £3 million to £1.6 million.

A number of rural routes have also been closed recently, with council chiefs having to step in and fund some temporary services in areas like Malvern and Upton.

Private providers have pointed to not enough people using many of the routes.

Councillor Alan Amos, speaking during a meeting of the overview and scrutiny performance board (OSPB) today, said: "These bus companies have got to provide a reliable service, it's not just about money.

"The things that bother the public is when you wait for the last bus at eight 'o' clock and it doesn't turn up, or you wait 20 minutes for your bus and it doesn't show, so you have to wait another 20 minutes.

"Many of the problems are managerial issues - there are certain services that just don't turn up and it's the people who don't drive that really suffer."

Tory Councillor Liz Eyre, a former cabinet member, said the Government's "funding mechanism" does "not support rural routes".

"We should be lobbying MPs to tell them this is undermining routes," she said.

Labour Councillor Richard Udall, OSPB chairman, said children on his nearest estate in Dines Green "can't get the bus back" if they venture out.

Labour Councillor Chris Bloore criticised the 1986 decision to de-regulate buses as "appalling", saying "Thatcher screwed the country".

"That's where the problems started - unless we're going to put the council's subsidy back up to £3 million, what it was before, we'll have to start lobbying the Government to reverse that decision in 1986," he said.

The investigation has been ordered by the OSPB, with the evidence gathered over the coming months reported to the Conservative leadership by November.