BUS services across Devon are to be thinned out as the county council attempts to shave £1.7million from its public transport budget.
People living in rural communities are likely to suffer the most, along with residents who cannot afford a car, young people who heavily rely on buses, older people who can no longer drive, people with disabilities and pregnant women, the authority admits.
Services most likely to be cut are those used by non-entitled school children, some evening and Sunday services and some town centre services.
The savings are necessary to meet the £50million Government funding cuts facing the county next year, the authority says.
Cabinet members are due to consider proposals to thin out services and reduce choice in terms of travel times and destinations, at their next meeting on January 14.
Cllr Stuart Hughes, in charge of highway management and flood prevention, assured residents who live in rural communities who are currently served by a bus, that they will not be entirely cut off.
Instead, villages which enjoy daily bus services may see this service reduced to just two or three days a week.
Cllr Hughes said: "We have made efficiencies in previous years to provide the required savings.
"But the scope for further efficiencies is very limited.
"This aims to preserve bus services across the county but to continue thinning those services and reducing choice in terms of travel time and destination.
"It provides a way of reducing our spend on public transport with the least possible impact".
The proposed cuts will lead to more traffic congestion as more people are forced to use their cars, and an increase in greenhouse gas and other emissions an officer report states.
It will also have a negative impact on employment levels and local businesses, access to health services, and the role of public transport in avoiding isolation in both physical and mental terms.
The council is considering capping the subsidy it will pay for bus journeys in Devon that would otherwise have been withdrawn by their commercial operators for being unprofitable.
The authority says taxpayers are subsidising some bus trips by nearly £20 for every individual passenger.
The ceiling will depend on the type of service and bigger subsidies are proposed for public transport which provides the last link for communities with bigger towns and for services which people use to get to and from work.
The current public transport budget for 2014/15 is £5.7million, of which £5.3million is used for Devon County Council funded bus services, with the remaining £400,000 for Community Transport support.
This will be the first time the authority has cut bus services in four years.
The council is proposing to increase funding for volunteer-run, community transport providers which take people to health appointments, services, shops and leisure activities where no suitable transport is available.
Residents will be asked to identify the bus services which are most valuable to their local communities in a public consultation due to start this month.
The consultation will provide a complete list of all the services affected.
