Under-threat bus services on a suburban Hampshire route have been saved after an operator stepped in to guarantee a service six days a week.

The future of weekday services for the village of Hiltingbury were in doubt after county transport bosses cut funding for the C3 and C4 services to and from Chandler’s Ford to only three days.

This was to save £22,000 as part of £1.5m of cuts rubber-stamped earlier this week.

But bus company Xelabus said it would be continuing a revised new timetable to allow a six-day-a-week operation.

The new changes will come into effect from January 4, 2015.

Philip Blair, managing director of Xelabus, said: “We have found that custom has increased since we took over the C3 and C4 routes over a year ago and with them linking to our X7 to and from Eastleigh there would be quite a few customers upset should the number of days operating reduce.”

Hiltingbury East borough councillor Godfrey Olson welcomed the decision to maintain services.

He said: “We have to think positive. But it is really a question of use it or lose it. I hope now that there is to be a regular service on a fixed route that there will be enough people using it to make it economical.

“Obviously, there are quite a lot of people in Hiltingbury and Chandler’s Ford who find the buses useful and one would like to think we could now get some stabilised route and a constant service.”

It comes after county council transport bosses axed subsides on weekends and on some routes slashed funding for weekday routes.

And from April next year, pensioners will only be able to use their bus passes after 9.30am – except in areas where the next bus is after 10.30am.