THIS is a heads up to all the people in Purbeck who use the No.40 bus.

After holding our breath, thinking maybe the service would be curtailed, we were pleasantly surprised to see in the new timetable that the evening service for the autumn/winter will continue, with the exception of Sundays.

This is the only public bus service from Poole to Swanage; via Upton, Lytchett Minster, Organford, Sandford, Wareham, Stoborough, Corfe Castle, Kingston and Langton Matravers.

Please be aware that the subsidy by the Dorset County Council for the evening service has been withdrawn.

More Bus, which owns and runs the No.40 bus, can, as it is now running as a commercial, standalone business, decide if it is viable to run the evening service.

It very much depends on the numbers of passengers using the No.40 – I believe it to be 20 passengers per journey – whether it will continue throughout the winter until April 2015.

So it is crucial that if you want to keep it in service, please use it or it may be lost forever.

Cllr Beryl Ezzard Chairman, Purbeck Transport Action Group