Gloucestershire students struggle to get to school after bus route axed

Some drivers are reportedly having to leave children waiting at the bus stop due to overcrowding

School children have been facing difficulties getting to school after a bus service was cancelled.

Ebley Coaches, which is based in Nailsworth, recently discontinued its double decker bus services from Gloucester to Stroud.

The service carried dozens of pupils to grammar schools, state schools and colleges in the area.

Students are having to use existing Stagecoach services instead, but have reported overcrowding and late buses.

Parents say that drivers are having to turn passengers, including school children, away due to the increase in demand.

Eva's daughter attends Stroud High School and said that "a full bus of kids" was 30 minutes late to school last week due to a delayed service.

"Last year, they had a dedicated school bus from Quedgeley and Hardwicke to Stroud and this service has stopped, so unfortunately we don't have a school bus at the moment," Eva said.

"The children need to use the public service - the bus was full with 70 children every day going from Quedgeley and Hardwicke to Stroud."

Eva has also raised concerns over the impact it is having on her daughter.

"It definitely puts some stress on her because she never knows if she'll be late or on time, or if she'll board the bus or not because the driver can't accept everyone that would like to board," she said.

"Some kids are left on the side of the road to wait for another one," she added.

Rachel's daughter also attends Stroud High School and had to sit in the bus stairwell on Monday, due to it being so crowded.

She said: "Because of Covid, it's the first time she's really ever caught a bus on her own.

"Children of that generation haven't lived the normal life that we have, so it's daunting."

Rachel added: "The driver just wants to get these poor kids to school and even he's having to drive past kids at bus stops because the buses are exceeding capacity."

Ebley Coaches said the former route had become "less cost effective" in recent years as the initial uptake of students using the service declines as the academic year goes on.

Limited vehicles

A spokesperson from the company said: "We are limited to the number of vehicles we can operate, a choice concerning how our limited resources would be used was necessary.

"Even a substantial fare increase above that with which we would be comfortable would not have provided a better outcome. 

"We had hoped that another local operator would take on the service and were surprised to learn that this was not to be the case.

"It would seem that the cheaper option of using the existing Stagecoach service had won through on this occasion."

'Reacting appropriately'

Rachel Geliamassi, managing director of Stagecoach, said: "We are aware of the issues experienced by some customers this week and completely understand the concerns these have raised.

"We're monitoring usage and patterns extremely closely across hundreds of school routes in the county and are reacting appropriately; balancing our resources to cater to the demand for school connections.

"We'd also like to remind passengers that there are earlier services available to use if they're able."

Gloucestershire County Council said the ongoing situation is not a matter for them, as the bus route is a commercial service.