South Gloucestershire Labour’s saved two more bus routes for the foreseeable future.

The 84/85, which links places like Cromhall and Hawkesbury Upton to Wotton-under-Edge, will now run until Easter 2024.

And the 622, which runs from Severn Beach to Castle School in Thornbury, will now run until the end of July 2024, when the academic year finishes.

Both services were due to end because of a lack of funding, but the Labour/Liberal Democrat Partnership has committed £250,000 of additional funding to keep them going temporarily.

The hope is to find more sustainable funding solutions for the routes long term.

Earlier this month the Partnership managed to secure three other services: the 427 from Frenchay to Winterbourne Academy, the 459 from Lyde Green to Winterbourne Academy, and the 460 from Coalpit Heath and Frampton Cotterell to Winterbourne Academy.

Matt Palmer, Labour’s Spokesperson for Planning, Regeneration and Infrastructure, said: “This Partnership has now saved five bus routes since it took office in May. We’re immensely proud of that.

“But this situation is far from ideal. Other bus routes will be ending, and we unfortunately don’t have the funds to save them as well. If central government accepted the importance of public transport, we would be getting the funding we need for our buses, and we wouldn’t have these concerns surrounding them.

“This is the problem with privatising the buses: a route may not make a profit, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t needed by the people who use it.”

You can read more about the 84/85 and 622 here: Council announces further support to extend vital 84/85 and 622 bus services | Newsroom (southglos.gov.uk)