'I am devastated' - Gloucestershire residents react as bus route axed
ITV News' Robert Murphy speaks to those impacted by the axed services in Wotton-under-Edge
Residents in Gloucestershire have said they are 'furious' after the axing of their local bus service.
The 84/85 bus, which connects Wotton-under-Edge and villages in South Gloucestershire to Yate, where many catch trains into the city, stopped on 1 September.
Alistair lives in Wotton-under-Edge and lost his job after 21 years, after no longer being able to get the bus to Yate when the service was axed.
"I am just totally devastated because there is no way for me to get to Yate, and Yate is such a perfect place for work for us."
Isaac is in his second year of college and says now the service has ben axed "I've got no way to get to college".
Teresa is a fruit and veg shop owner in the town, and says it's been a "domino effect".
"People can't get into Wotton and we've lost trade, we're a dying high street anyway", she said.
Councils say services have been reduced due to lack of demand.
Campaigner, Barbara disagreed, telling ITV News: "That's just not true."
"Our 84/85 bus was well used, post Covid the numbers were low, as they were everywhere. We built it up, it was more sustainable, it's more well used than many services", she said.
In a statement, Gloucestershire County Council said: "The council partially funds a small proportion of this service as only a minimal section of the route lies within our county.
"When we were made aware it was under threat, we worked frequently with WECA and South Gloucestershire Council, and offered more money in an attempt to secure the route. Sadly, while we tried everything to save it this was not the final outcome."
The cuts were at the centre of a Parliament debate was held on Wednesday 11 September by Glastonbury and Somerton Lib Dem MP Sarah Dyke.
Speaking at the debate she said: "The lack of funding, sparsity of routes, and smaller population centres has resulted in one in four bus routes ceasing to exist in county and rural areas over the last 11 years."
The debate was also attended by the Labour MP for Stroud, Simon Opher who highlighted problems with cross-border rural buses which require "agreement from all of the different local authorities to fund it" which "is putting a severe strain on rural populations."