A TRANSPORT campaigner has told bus bosses that the ‘number of breakdowns’ and ‘no shows’ on some routes are unacceptable.

Sue Dubois of betterbuses4forestofdean met Stagecoach chiefs with other campaigners earlier this month, but claims that the Forest team got “no solid rational reasons or suggested solutions”.

New extended yearly contracts for the 23, 24A, 31 and 31 evening routes were issued at the start of last month. But Ms Dubois says that over seven months, bus users have told her of several failings, particularly on routes 23 between Coleford and Gloucester and 24 between Ross-on-Wye, Cinderford and Gloucester.

Among the alleged problems, Ms Dubois highlighted “smoke emitting from the back end, faulty doors, windscreen wipers and a water pump failing, a broken fan belt, an engine overheating and breaks failing.”

She also claimed that they include drivers “absent for duty” and getting “lost”, while early commuter buses have failed to run, the power steering “failed” at Newnham, buses have been overcrowded with people standing for 15 miles, and delays of “up to two hours”.

She said that on one occasion when the 35 bus back from Monmouth “broke down”, there was no replacement bus available, and three ladies in their 80s had to get a taxi back to Coalway.

Ms Dubois and councillors met with Gloucestershire Integrated Transport chief Alan Bently, Stagecoach’s operations director Rachel Geliamassi and their new engineering manager on April 5.

She said: “The team from the Dean repeatedly asked for technical mechanical reasons for these breakdowns.

“The newly appointed manager of engineering gave the main reason as ‘leaves and grass’, which is detritus sucked in to air vents. This reason was given three years ago to Sue on BBC Radio Gloucestershire by Stagecoach MD Rupert Cox.

“Attempts to extract more detail, such as age, were rebuffed. A lot of buses are over 14 years old.

“The Forest team got no solid rational reasons or suggested solutions. The Stagecoach rep constantly said there was really no problem.”

In response to a query on why there was no messaging between buses in the event of a ‘no show’, it was revealed that electronic timetables are due to be placed in each of the four main towns soon.

While Stagecoach provided “efficient journeys every day”, it was claimed that breakdowns were “letting the Stagecoach brand down”.

A meeting of Gloucestershire County Council earlier this year heard that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency had “no concerns” about Stagecoach’s compliance with vehicle safety regs, “that Stagecoach were taking this very seriously, and that instances of breakdowns “were not as high as being suggested.”

The company’s Rachel Geliamassi told the Review: “We carry thousands of passengers each day and occasionally something may go wrong.  

“Our local engineering teams follow a strict preventive maintenance regime and work hard to rectify any issues as quickly as possible.

“We have regular engagement with the local authority and will continue to welcome their dialogue and feedback.’’