ST HELENS councillor Terry Hanley has accused bus company Arriva of "putting profits before people" following the announcement of a continuing package of cuts in services. Arriva say they want to give a better service but they are not in the business of 'running empty buses'.

Since January, Arriva have announced more than 100 service changes including cuts, alterations to routes and re-numbering of buses.

And at a meeting of the Passenger Transport Executive Liaison Panel, members were told of proposals to dramatically cut services across Merseyside. Arriva run around 85 per cent of buses in St Helens and Councillor Hanley, St Helens Council's representative on Merseytravel, says the proposals would have a dramatic effect on local communities. Some of the cuts and changes to routes have already been made by the bus company.

He said: "This is all about maximising the more profitable routes at the expense of others -- many of which are a transport lifeline for smaller communities.

"People are being denied access to jobs, leisure facilities, and social outlets."

Meanwhile, Arriva North West marketing manager Derek Bowes responded to the criticism by saying : "Arriva is a commercial company, and any such organisation that fails to give sufficient return to its investors is unlikely to have any long term future.

"We are in the business of taking people where they want to go, not running empty buses and we are committed to providing better services, quality buses and improved networks.

"If there are any areas of significant demand that Councillor Hanley feels we have overlooked, we shall certainly look at them very closely."