Gloucestershire buses funding boost to get passengers back

Mark Harper hopes the funding increase will help bring passengers back on buses

The Transport Secretary Mark Harper says he hopes a boost in funding of bus services will bring passengers back.

Gloucestershire County Council secured £4.4m of additional funding by the Department for Transport over two years to increase routes across the county.

The Forest of Dean MP said: "The problem with the pandemic was, it drove a lot of people away from the buses."

He continued: "More services like The Robin bus will attract more users which helps make them more sustainable."

The on-demand rural minibus service The Robin currently operates in the north Cotswolds and Forest of Dean but will now cover Tewkesbury, Stroud and the south Cotswolds.

The Robin bus service has proved popular in the Forest of Dean and will now be expanded

The funding also means some services which were withdrawn last year by Stagecoach can be reinstated, if operators come forward to run the routes.

The proposed new bus routes are:

• Service 72, Chepstow to Lydney - service to be extended from Lydney to Mitcheldean via Soudley, Ruspidge and Cinderford

• Service 8, Kingsway to Coopers Edge via Gloucester - two later journeys on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday/Public Holiday service to continue until at least 11pm

• Service 41, Cheltenham to Tewkesbury - two late journeys, Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday/Public Holiday service to continue until at least 11pm

• Routes 62 & 63, Gloucester to Stroud - two later departures each way, Monday to Saturday

• Service 801, Cheltenham to Moreton in Marsh via Bourton in the Water - extended to an hourly daytime service Mondays to Saturdays and a two-hourly Sunday/Public Holiday service

Cllr Philip Robinson, cabinet member for buses, said: "I've welcomed this opportunity to have the Secretary of State for Transport to visit The Robin.

"We're so pleased that we can build on our pilot and enable residents in other areas travel more easily."

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