TWO West Somerset bus routes which looked set to be axed from the end of the month have been handed a lifeline.

The Buses of Somerset have agreed to combine the 10 Porlock to Minehead and 101 Minehead Town service for two months while parish and town and parish councils work to find a way to fund a replacement service in the longer term.

Thousands of people signed a petition to protest the decision to axe the services and a 'Save Our Buses' protest in Wellington Square on Saturday, October, 8 saw hundreds of people turn out in support.

The routes were previously run by Webberbus before the company abruptly ceased trading in May, and the Buses of Somerset stepped in however found the services to not be viable on a commercial basis.

They were due to be withdrawn from Monday, October 31 and Somerset County Council were unable to fund replacement services due to budgetary constraints.

However, in a meeting with representatives of Minehead Town Council and the parish councils of Porlock and Selworthy, the communities agreed to seek local funding to support a replacement bus service in the longer term.  

To allow the councils time to raise funding, The Buses of Somerset has devised a service which combines the two current routes, and is proposing to operate this at its own commercial risk for two months, following which it is hoped the funding can be organised by the councils to ensure its continuation.

Managing director of The Buses of Somerset, Alex Carter, said: “We are very pleased to be able to offer this replacement service as a lifeline for the users who depend on buses in the area.

"The decision to withdraw the current routes was not taken lightly, but we simply cannot continue to run these loss making services – which we have done for over four months.

"The proposed replacement service combines the two routes and will run less frequently, but is designed to ensure all key transport needs continue to be met.

"We are grateful to the local parish and town councils for their willingness to pursue funding to support the replacement route, and happy to play our part by running this at our commercial risk for a couple of months to allow them time to organise this.

"As in all such situations, this will only work, and the replacement service will only survive, if people support the bus and use it regularly.”

Cllr David Fothergill, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “We are very pleased that the communities have worked together to develop their own solution to this problem.

"We are hopeful that this agreement will be sustainable and that this model could potentially be replicated elsewhere. It is great the communities are being proactive.”

The new route will be numbered 10/10A, and timetable details are available at www.firstgroup.com/somerset/news-and-service-updates/news/lifeline-minehead-local-bus-services.