Gloucestershire pupils facing impact of axed bus route

Mel and her daughter Ruby at the bus stop

A mother said she has "had enough" after her child has been impacted by the discontinuation of a bus service.

Mel's daughter, Ruby, has been affected by the cancellation of the Ebley Coaches 16A service in Stroud.

Many students are now using existing Stagecoach services, but have reported overcrowding and late buses.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach West said they were "closely monitoring the situation".

Ebley Coaches, which is based in Nailsworth, used to run a double decker bus service from Gloucester to Stroud.

Mel said: "None of us want our kids hanging around the streets for ages after school or being left there in the mornings."

The route was used by students from various schools and colleges in the area, but the company said it became "less cost effective" in recent years due to a plateau in passengers as the academic year went on.

Although other private companies offered parents annual tickets, they worked out to be significantly more than Ebley's fees.

Ruby has been using Stagecoach buses after Ebley Coaches cancelled the 16A service

To save money, many parents resorted to using existing Stagecoach services, which don't have the capacity to meet the demand.

Due to the buses being full, drivers have had to refuse entry to some passengers and the knock-on effect has made some services run late.

Mel said: "[Ruby] gets very worried about being late for school and getting into trouble, so that's obviously impacting her because she doesn't know whether she's going to get on a bus or not. Or whether she's going to arrive on time or not.

'Stressful'

"She worries about whether she'll get a place on the bus or whether the next bus will even turn up"

"It's stressful for [the children]. They don't need the hassle before doing a whole day at school and then still worrying about how to get home or what time they'll get home"

Although Mel purchased one of Stagecoach's 28-day MegaRider passes, which grants passengers unlimited travel, Ruby has only been able to use the ticket six times due to the buses being "packed".

Mel said "I decided that I'd had enough" and chose to drive Ruby to and from school instead.

'Posed challenges'

Rachel Geliamassi, Managing Director of Stagecoach West said: "We are sorry to hear about the experiences of some of the school children trying to get to school on time. And at Stagecoach we do not like to turn passengers away due to the bus being at full capacity.

"Ebley withdrawing this service has, certainly, posed some challenges getting children to school every day and has had a knock-on effect to our Stagecoach services.

"The first couple of weeks back after the summer holidays can, temporarily, pose a few challenges on our school routes, due to the fact we don't know how many passengers will use our services until the term starts.

"Please be assured that we are closely monitoring the situation."

As an alternative, Mel has signed up with Jackie's Coaches for the remainder of the year.

Although it is more expensive than Ebley Coaches, Mel said: "Our kids will have a seat on the way there and a seat on the way home and we know that it will get them to school on time."