CHANGES to bus services in East Dorset have been slammed by a transport group.

The Campaign for Better Transport says that Wilts & Dorset "needs to wake up and smell the coffee".

David Redgewell, the group's representative for the South West, said bus services in Dorset had been "decimated" by the red bus company and its parent, Go Ahead.

And he singled out cuts to the X36 service for criticism.

The service links West Moors to Bournemouth Hospital and has attracted a petition of more than 1,000 signatures protesting against changes which began on Sunday.

"Dorset County Council should be stepping in to subsidise it. They should be discussing these changes with the community," said Mr Redgewell.

Verwood people had also suffered from service changes, the campaigner added.

But Chris Harris, Wilts & Dorset's marketing manager, said the service was not in demand.

"We used to have a late bus service to Verwood but it was insufficiently used to justify its continuation," he said.

Mr Redgewell called for Wilts & Dorset to form a "stakeholder panel" as its parent group had done in Oxford.

The panel includes council officials and passenger groups, and monitors performance, reliability and service, he said.

Go Ahead's chief executive had pledged to consider a panel for Dorset in November, said Mr Redgewell.

"They said they would look into it, but dialogue isn't happening. What we have now is cuts," he said.

Alex Carter, the managing director of Wilts & Dorset, said the company was considering a similar scheme to one used elsewhere by its parent company.

"It's a fairly structured way of drawing opinion from the wider community. The scheme in Oxford has been particularly successful," he said.

Transport chiefs at County Hall also came in for criticism from the transport campaigner.

"Dorset County Council is the only council in Britain that believes you can run a bus service without subsidy," said Mr Redgewell.

But Barry Thirlwall, Dorset County Council's passenger transport manager, said the council's spending on public transport was "substantial".

"Dorset County Council pays nearly £2 million a year to subsidise bus services," said Mr Thirlwall. "I don't think you can compare subsidies with other counties without considering demographics, travel patterns and car ownership," he added.