A POPULAR night bus scheme, which ferried passengers into Stroud at weekends, has been taken off the road because of a lack of funds.

The Cam and Dursley night bus, which started as a pilot scheme in February 2007, has not been running since July as Stroud District Council tries to find an affordable way of running the service.

Members of the Cam and Dursley Youth Forum say the bus is important to young people, who might otherwise hang around the town at weekends causing trouble.

However, a spokesman for Stroud District Council said: "High costs mean that the popular Stroud night bus will not be returning to Cam and Dursley for the time being.

"While the Stroud night bus steering group wants to reinstate the Cam and Dursley service, it has not been possible to place a contract for this element of the route at present.

"A lack of competitive tenders from local coach companies and unexpected price rises has made the service unaffordable at present."

Cllr Nigel Studdert-Kennedy, cabinet member for regeneration, said: "The problem is even though the route is popular, it would need a heavier subsidy, especially with the higher prices quoted.

"We know that it's important to people in the Cam and Dursley area, especially youngsters, so we are doing our best."

Alex Jones, 16, a member of the youth forum, said: "The bus was really popular with young people.

"A lot of people used it to see their mates as well as going to Stroud. They would get off at one of the stops on the way to Stroud and get on later to get home again."

The Dursley and Cam service, which also stopped in Uley, was much more popular than its neighbouring Stroud service, which started running again before Christmas.

Emma Mears, 16, also a member of the youth forum, added: "The Dursley route was doing much better than the Stroud route because people here need it more.

"It saves parents having to taxi their children from A to B all the time. Young people used it for going to the cinema, bowling or seeing their friends.

"Without it young people just get bored at weekends and end up hanging around town and vandalising things."

Cllr Hilary Fowles, district councillor for Dursley, said: "If they really are not funding the Cam and Dursley night bus I am extremely disappointed.

"It was used more than any other night bus - I think about 50 people used to use it on Friday and Saturday nights. We just need to get the service going again."

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