CAMPAIGNERS are calling for vital bus services to be restored in the Yate and Chipping Sodbury area.

They say the loss of the 81 service has left people living in Yate, Coalpit Heath and Frampton Cotterell struggling to travel to Southmead Hospital and Parkway station.

And terminating the 82 at Yate means those living in Chipping Sodbury, Wotton-under-Edge and the villages in between have no direct link at all to the hospital and station, the campaigners said.

Both services had been subsidised by South Gloucestershire Council, which said cuts had to be made in order to increase spending on other under-threat services.

A petition was handed in at the council’s public transport forum on Monday by Liberal Democrat councillor Claire Young.

More than 240 had signed to call for the reinstatement of the buses.

Cllr Young said people were “queuing up to sign”, adding that the cut “has had a real impact on people’s lives, made worse by the poor reliability of the 82 bus that runs from Yate”.

She added: “Having to change buses is bad enough, especially if you’re infirm. It’s even worse if you’re not sure the other bus will even turn up.

“People have been telling me stories of missed appointments at Southmead and missed connections at Parkway and UWE.

“It’s difficult to hold down a job or university place when you’re repeatedly late.

“UWE has done some great work attracting students from our area who might otherwise not have gone to university.

“That work will be undone if people can’t get there.”

The councillor added: “We fought hard to get a direct bus link to Southmead when Frenchay Hospital closed. Now we’re fighting again to get that link restored.”

But Conservative councillors have criticised the Lib Dem-led campaign, accusing those behind it of being hypocrites.

Tory-led SGC said that the cuts originally proposed by bus company First would have seen the end of services for more remote areas, including Oldland and Bitton.

Conservative councillors said the changes to the service were a compromise in order to save as much as possible with the limited resources available.

SGC’s lead member for transport, Cllr Colin Hunt, said: “The Lib Dems were quick to follow our lead in campaigning with us to save the Oldland and Bitton buses.

“They agreed the only way to save it was to move our subsidies around.

“Now they are turning around and campaigning against what they previously campaigned for.”

Cllr Hunt added: “I agree that local bus services need to be improved, which is precisely why I back devolution, to get the extra powers on offer to give our transport system a boost and get us moving.”