PLANS to drop a popular Ringwood bus service have been put on temporary hold in a bid to find a long-term funding solution.

However, Ringwood's 136 and 137 services, which currently run every 20 minutes on two different routes on a round trip between the town centre and Poulner, will only operate from between 9.15am and 2.15pm from Monday.

The services first came under threat 12 months ago during a Wilts & Dorset re-tendering exercise.

They were saved then, but this year Wilts & Dorset said it wants a considerable increase in the contract price to contine the service in its existing form.

It also wants to introduce a reduced timetable on the X5 service between Bournemouth, Ringwood and Southampton.

The plans to withdraw the 136 and 137 routes from January 6 led to the town council receiving a petition bearing the names of almost 300 objectors.

They said withdrawal of the buses will bring hardship to the elderly and others who rely on the services to get to and from work, health services and the shops, leading to a loss of business.

Those with cars will drive, adding to congestion and pollution.

And critics said there was little point having free bus passes for the over-60s if there were no services on which to use them.

Now Wilts & Dorset has agreed to the limited interim service to allow Hampshire County Council to negotiate.

The town council was told the total subsidy for services 136/7 in 2007 was £37,142 but would drop to £29,101 from this month.

Annual patronage is 80,952 but if the service is operated hourly some buses could be filled to capacity, said council clerk Terry Simpson, who suggested the county council should be encouraged to liaise with Dorset County Council to suggest a new service to take in Poulner, Ring-wood town centre, and then on to either Verwood or Ferndown.

Councillors agreed to pursue the idea and also decided to voice their concerns to New Forest West MP Desmond Swayne, central government, New Forest District Council and the Hampshire Association of Local Councils.