Protest outside Sub Rooms in Stroud against Stagecoach bus cuts

Cutbacks will be introduced on four Stagecoach routes on Sunday.

One service will no longer run on Sundays or later in the evenings while others will run less frequently.

A second protest was held outside the Sub Rooms on Saturday by campaigners who fear a detrimental impact on jobs, trade and women's safety.

Passengers outlined how they would be affected at a public meeting at Stroud Brewery recently.

A young man said he would have to give up his university course while a young woman said her job would no longer be viable.

Women also raised safety concerns as a result of longer waiting times while traders said they would lose customers.

The 67 between Bussage and Cashes Green will no longer run on Sundays and will finish earlier in the evenings while the 63 between Forest Green, Stroud and Gloucester will drop to an hourly service from Monday to Saturday and every two hours on a Sunday.

It currently runs every half-hour between 9am and 1.30pm on weekdays and every hour between 9am and 5pm at weekends.

A petition started by Stroud Needs Buses has been signed by nearly 1,500 residents.

Hereward Corbett, of the Yellow-Lighted Bookshop in Nailsworth, who started the petition, said recent cuts have hit his business.

He said: “The cuts have cost our business thousands of pounds over the last couple of years.

"Local buses are a vital part of our communities, with families and businesses relying on them.

"Cutting services is the wrong thing to do. We’ve worked really hard to retain loyal staff who commute.

"And of course, those who can’t travel can’t spend their money."

Campaigners want Stagecoach to work with communities to review how each route is affected, cancel the cuts until the review is complete and agree to a set of basic service standards.

The group's Jenny Inglis said: “We should be adding bus services, not taking them away.

"Cutting buses disproportionally affects the lowest-earning families the most as they are the least likely to have cars."

Protest organiser Sophia Spooner said: “The cuts will mean I am stranded halfway home, so I will have to leave my job."

Rachel Geliamassi, managing director of Stagecoach West, said the cuts were a result of low demand.

"We know how vital bus services are to people in our region and so reducing services is always an action we consider carefully," she said.

“We introduced the current service 67 timetable in 2021, providing a half-hourly frequency and an evening and Sunday service.

"Unfortunately, due to increased costs and low passenger numbers, the service is no longer financially viable in its current format.

"We typically carry around 15 passengers between Bussage and Stroud town centre after 6pm.

"Numbers are even lower on Sundays when only 4 or 5 passengers use the bus at any one time.

"The current cost of running a Sunday service is in excess of £4 per passenger which is more than double the fare collected.

"We have responded to initial feedback and introduced a later journey to Bussage on Mondays to Fridays.

"This reduction in service is necessary to ensure the future sustainability of the 67.”

Two new services - the 62 and 166 - will be introduced, which Stagecoach says will improve links between Stroud, Gloucester and Cheltenham.