Fears for council cuts to two Somerset bus services

A transport group has expressed fears that two Somerset bus services could be hit by cuts planned by Bristol City Council.

South West Transport Network claims the 376 through Wells, Glastonbury, Street and Yeovil and the 672 to the Chew Valley could both be affected.

Last week, the council announced bus services were under threat due to "unexpected cost rises".

A spokesman said no decisions had been made about specific bus services.

Tenders from a variety of bus operators came in at £1.2m more than the hung council had budgeted for.

The council subsidises 81 services - including off-peak, local "shopper" and park-and-ride routes - and two ferry services, now also under review.

The frequency of some services is likely to be reduced and others could go entirely.

The Liberal Democrat group said the authority was currently spending just over £5m on transport subsidies and had already planned to cut its support by £1m over the next two years.

David Redgewell, from South West Transport Network, said: "If they go ahead and chop the services into the Mendips, the 376, the last journey out of Bristol, could very well be 20 minutes past seven in the evenings to Wells, Glastonbury and Street."

A Bristol City Council spokeswoman said: "We are doing a full review of bus services but we don't know which ones we will be cutting."

A decision will be made by the council's cabinet on 9 June.