A ROW has broken out on the buses over the proposed new timetable.

Forest Council leader Cllr Tim Gwilliam says Stagecoach is making “shocking cuts” to the local service, but the company has hit back, blaming falling passenger numbers and saying it has carried out a full consultation.

Cllr Gwilliam has written to the company saying he has received “a large number of phone calls and complaints” since the publication of the proposed new bus service timetable.

“As one of the ward members for the Berry Hill, Christchurch and Edge End areas, I am shocked at the cuts your company is proposing to make to the service to the area’s local town Coleford and also into our major city, Gloucester,” he wrote.

“The change of timings is the first issue with residents telling me they cannot now get into Gloucester to meet their employment requirements.

“On top of that, it appears as if there will be no buses travelling through Berry Hill to go to Coleford and instead requiring people to walk or travel to Five Acres, potentially half-a-mile away in order to catch a bus into Coleford.

“The area I represent is blessed to have a large elderly population, a population that is reliant on bus travel to go to appointments at doctors, or hospitals, even to do shopping or even just to enjoy leisure time.

“It appears clear that no social impact assessment on the effects of your cuts has been conducted , otherwise I’m sure it would have brought to light these very real issues. People losing work and losing the opportunity for community mobility is not an acceptable way a company of the stature of Stagecoach should conduct its business in my view.”

But Stagecoach West commercial manager James O’Neill says a year-long review revealed “continued decline in passenger numbers, with cost spiralling above revenue received from paying customers”.

He said since 2014, Forest buses have seen passenger numbers decline from 1.7 million annual journeys to 1.4 million in 2018 – a fall of more than 15%.

“With approximately 5,000 fewer journeys being made each week, we had little choice but to consider a full review of our resource,” he said.

They had consulted with the county council and the public alongside multiple meetings with stakeholders including FEP and Gloucestershire College, he added.

“The new network has at its core a desire to improve connections between each Forest town, with most routes serving at least two of the main areas of population. Nearly every route will offer journeys to local secondary schools as well as Gloucestershire College.

“We’re also offering slightly improved evening buses and more journeys on Sundays, in line with customer demand.

“It has proved unsurprisingly difficult to retain equal bus provision to all communities, most obviously the smaller settlements, as quite simply some of these areas have been over-served in proportion to actual usage for quite some time.

“After such detailed review we can only justify buses in places where people will respond and travel, as otherwise we’ll have little choice but to act again at a later date.”

The council had worked to replace the gaps by redirecting existing supported routes or otherwise adding new shopper or Dial-a-Ride services.

He said they would be reinstating an early departure from Coleford on Service 22 (at 5.25am) as well as an additional bus from Mitcheldean to Cinderford (supported by GCC), and had offered a meeting with the Forest Council to help resolve any further queries.

Cllr Gwilliam has urged the comnpany to undertake an immediate review of the proposals for the Berry Hill, Christchurch and Edge End areas, and said “this time take onboard the real demographic and social impact the proposed changes will have on the community I represent.”

He said many councillors from all over the Forest had received similar complaints.