Rural communities to lose 'lifeline' buses

A HUGE swathe of Bath and North East Somerset could be left with no buses in a “devastating” loss for local people as the funding for the area’s only two buses faces a cliff edge.

- JOHN WIMPERIS Local Democracy Reporter

The X91 and 99 were set up to serve the Chew Valley after it was left with no buses after 2023's bus cuts - but the funding for routes is set to end in March.

At a meeting of Bath and North East Somerset Council on November 20, Chew Valley locals and councillors urged the council to work with the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) to keep the buses running.

Phil Collins was one of three members of the Chew Valley CIC Sustainable Transport Partnership, which set the buses up, who spoke at the meeting.

He told councillors: “If the X91 and the 99 weren't continued, the whole of the Chew Valley and indeed all of B&NES from the A37 westwards would be without any timetabled bus services.”

The X91 runs between the Chew Valley and Bristol while the X99 completes a figure-of-eight circuit of the villages around the area.

The buses are run by bus company The Big Lemon and were some of the first to be set up under Weca’s WESTlocal scheme last year, which allowed community groups to set up bus services.