BUS CAMPAIGNERS raised concerns over Shire Hall transport chiefs giving “copy and paste” answers to questions asking how much it would cost to reinstate a route from Dursley to Bristol.

Heidi Westerlage, from Cam and Dursley transportation group, asked for a follow-up question over why the direct service was affordable in September 2022, but is completely unaffordable now, after the £4.4m boost Gloucestershire County Council received to improve bus services.

She told the meeting in Gloucester yesterday (March 20) that her original question had not been answered.

“The answer I received from Cllr Philip Robinson is a copy and paste response to another question on the list,” she said.

“Therefore my question has not been answered. I would like to get a response to my question of how much funding would be available for a new service which consists of one vehicle direct commuter service to Cam and Dursley railway station, Berkeley, Stone, Falfield, Bristol Old Market, Bristol city centre, via the A38 and M5 motorway.

“Travel duration of approximately one hour and 15 minutes.”

Cllr Robinson, the authority’s bus transport cabinet member, said in his written answer that an extra 150-200 passengers per day would be needed to make the route feasible.

He told the meeting that the reason the same answer was used is because it was a very similar question to another asked by somebody else.

He said when the route “collapsed” it was costing the authority £250,000 a year.

“That was from Dursley to Bristol. We looked at a replacement which went as far as Thornbury which cost £273,000.

“It was a ten per cent increase in the contract price for just 50 per cent of the route.”

He said it was one of the most heavily subsidised services in Gloucestershire and very few people were using it all the way to Bristol.

“Most of the people using that part of the route were coming from Bristol into Gloucestershire.”

He said a like for like service would cost £595,000 per year and was not feasible.