A SCHOOL bus serving young people in Chipping Sodbury, Yate and nearby villages has been saved from cancellation after the council staged an eleventh-hour intervention.

Dozens of school children faced having no school bus after service operator Taylors told South Gloucestershire Council the S8 service from Old Sodbury to Katharine Lady Berkeley School (KLB) in Wotton-Under-Edge would be cancelled at the end of September. The cancellation was blamed on increasing costs.

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But the bus service which stops in Wickwar, Chipping Sodbury, Yate, Iron Acton, Rangeworthy and Cromhall was saved after the council negotiated with the provider.

Increased numbers of users between Cromhall and KLB were negotiated to help solve capacity issues with other supported routes that were oversubscribed.

South Gloucestershire Council say this is the most recent success in a number of bids to keep school services running.

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Councillor Steve Reade, South Gloucestershire Cabinet Member with responsibility for Transport, said: “I am delighted that the Council has been able to find a solution that helps keep the S8 service running, removing a potentially difficult obstacle to getting local children to school.

"Without this bus, parents would no doubt have to resort to less sustainable transport options for the school run, wasting their time and money during an already difficult situation."

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Thornbury and Yate MP Luke Hall added: “Making sure local buses continue to serve our communities, even amidst the cost-of-living crisis is a key part of our Positive Plan to keep South Gloucestershire moving and I am pleased to see South Gloucestershire Council again demonstrating their ability to act and prevent this service from being cut and disrupting the education of local children.”