Stagecoach West has refuted claims their planned bus route cuts in Gloucestershire are financially driven and have hit back at council chiefs who it claims refused to meet with their bosses.
Up to half a million journeys a year could be affected from November by the bus company’s decision to withdraw from some of the routes it operates due to a shortage of drivers.
Gloucestershire County Council chiefs have severely criticised the firm who they say is “throwing rural routes under the bus” by going ahead with the cuts.
Cabinet member Philip Robinson (C, Mitcheldean), who is responsible for bus transport, said Stagecoach had “put its commercial interest before that of some of the most disadvantaged and isolated communities in Gloucestershire”.
But Stagecoach bosses say the claims made by Cllr Robinson are inaccurate and misleading to the public. They say they have been in talks with the council for more than four months in trying to agree a solution which would help deliver a more consistent bus service.
Stagecoach West managing director Rachel Geliamassi said: “Our communities are extremely important to us, and we know how critical bus services are to people in our region.
“We want to make the best of a very difficult set of current challenges that are largely outside our control, and we need the support of our local authority partners to make that happen.
“But the statements that Gloucestershire County Council is making are both inaccurate and are misleading the public. The fact is that we have been speaking to the council for over four months to agree a solution that would help to deliver a more consistent bus service that passengers can use with confidence.
“This is not financially driven in any way – it is about delivering a service that we know we can run reliably given the continuing bus driver shortages impacting the bus and coach sector right across the UK.
“In addition to our own Stagecoach services, we operate some tendered council bus services on their behalf. Given the current circumstances, we believe it is better for another operator to run these routes to ensure a more reliable service for people in those areas.
“Exactly in line with the contract, we gave the council notice of this in August, allowing them the required time to re-tender the contracted routes if they wished to do so. The council are now seeking to renege on that agreement and, at the same time, council leaders are refusing to meet with us to discuss the issue any further.
“Bus operators and local authorities have a joint responsibility to our communities and passengers will lose out if one party refuses to engage constructively to find solutions and stick with them when they are agreed. We would urge the council to re-think its position in the interests of the communities that we are jointly here to serve.”
