Changes to Hertfordshire's Savercard scheme that are set to cost some residents hundreds of pounds more in bus fares have prompted calls for a review.

Until now, the majority of Hertfordshire residents could access half-price fares on bus and Interlink services by purchasing a £20 Savercard.

But on September 6, the Savercard scheme for adults – over 25 – and for seniors was withdrawn.

And for those aged between 11 and 25 the Savercard discount on Intalink Connect services was reduced from 50% to 30%.

As a result of the changes, some residents – including parents of children who use Intalink bus services to get to and from school – have complained that they will be out of pocket by hundreds of pounds a year.

Cllr Ralph Muncer (Conservative, Knebworth and Codicote) believes the changes have disproportionately impacted those living in Hertfordshire's villages, for whom buses are a "vital lifeline".

And now he is calling on the council to introduce a new Rural Savercard – and to restore the 50% discount for those young people living in Hertfordshire villages.

In a letter to the council's executive member for environment, transport and growth Cllr Paul Zukowskyj, Cllr Muncer says the Savercard changes have "added to the significant financial pressures facing many hard-working families across Knebworth and Codicote".

He says that for some the fare increases are a barrier to accessing essential services in Hitchin, Stevenage and other towns across the county.

And he highlights a parent who says she will have to pay an additional £1,000 a year for her two children to travel from their Codicote home to their school in Hitchin.

In making the case for a Rural Hertfordshire Savercard – and the restoration of the 50% discount for young people in Hertfordshire villages – he says it would provide a "vital lifeline" by lowering the cost.

He also suggests that it would help to strengthen the rural bus routes that service the county's communities.

In response, Cllr Zukowskyj (Liberal Democrat, Hatfield South) has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he acknowledges the Savercard changes are "unfortunate" and not what the council had wanted to do.

But he said the bus service improvement grant that the scheme had relied on had ended – with no further funding from the Government.

He said there had also been some push-back from bus operators, due to the level of discount involved.

And he said estimates suggested that the financial cost of continuing with the scheme as it was would have run into millions of pounds.

"We took the view, hard as it was that we needed to modify the Savercard scheme to keep bus operators on board and to keep within the county council budget," he said.

According to Cllr Zukowskyj, the changes implemented to the Savercard scheme had been selected to have the least impact on bus users.

And he points to data that shows there were just 1,000 people aged between 25 and 64 who had a Savercard last year

Responding specifically to the suggestion of a Rural Savercard, he highlighted the difficulties of defining what 'rural' might be – as well as the time it would take to implement and the costs involved.

Commenting on the need for the changes, a spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council also highlighted the affordability of the scheme.

"The cost of operating bus services had increased significantly, and unfortunately this means that some discount offers are no longer affordable for operators or the council," said the spokesperson.

"We have therefore, in partnership with local bus operators, had to make some changes to the SaverCard scheme, and withdraw some discount offers.

"We appreciate that this is disappointing to many bus users in Hertfordshire and we are working to ensure the changes are as minimal as possible.

"Bus fares remain capped at £3 for a single journey, and this will fall to £2 from January."