The bus routes in Gloucestershire set to improve thanks to £4.4M cash injection

The plans will see some routes run later while others will serve a wider area. Credit: PA Images

There will be changes to bus routes in Gloucestershire after the area was given £4.4million in government funding.

Gloucestershire Council secured the money through the government's Bus Service Improvement plan.

It will see some routes run later while others will serve a wider area.

The money will also see the expansion of The Robin - a demand-responsive service. The minibus services operate in the north Cotswolds and Forest of Dean but could be expanded into rural areas in Tewkesbury, Stroud and the nouth Cotswolds.

The additional funding also means some services which were withdrawn in 2022 by Stagecoach could be reinstated, providing operators come forward to run the routes.

Which bus routes will see changes?

  • Service 72 - The route between Chepstow and Lydney will be extended from Lydney to Mitcheldean via Soudley, Ruspidge and Cinderford.

  • Service 8 - two later journeys will be added to the the Kingsway to Coopers Edge via Gloucester route on Friday and Saturday evenings. The Sunday and public holiday service will also continue until at least 11pm.

  • Service 41 - two later journeys will be added on the Cheltenham to Tewkesbury and Ashchurch Station route on Friday and Saturday evenings. The Sunday and public holiday service will also continue until at least 11pm.

  • Services 62/63 - two later departures will run each way from Monday to Saturday on the , route between Gloucester and Stroud.

  • Service 801 - the Cheltenham to Moreton in Marsh via Bourton-in-the-Water routewill be extended to an hourly daytime service Monday to Saturday and a two-hourly daytime service on Sundays and public holidays.

Councillor Philip Robinson, who is responsible for bus transport, said the extra cash will be spent to try to make the routes commercially self-sufficient.

“The rationale behind the funding is to help that service to become feasible commercially at the end of the funding period," he said.

He said that the money will be allocated based on what residents want, which includes  extending some of the services with later routes and more Sunday services.

He said: “In survey after survey, what they want is more evening and weekend services and in some cases greater frequencies."

Cllr Robinson added: “One of my political opponents has suggested it's a modest sum of funding. I wouldn’t say it’s modest at all.

“We are looking at enhanced services, reinstating routes and extending the Robin to three new rural areas.”