CONFUSION surrounds the new bus services for the Forest and Wye Valley area, which came into effect on Monday, (March 30), with an eleventh-hour change of plan by operators Stagecoach West further adding to the problems for commuters.

First inclinations that plans had gone awry came with the introduction of a new 'shuttle bus', service 23a, which takes passengers from Elton Corner and on to Lydney.

This was launched by local operators Forest Community Transport, on Monday evening, but despite pleas from passengers that the service be provided as a stop-gap after Stagecoach West cut the onward service from Elton Corner, the new bus service failed to attract any passengers at all.

County Cllr Richard Leppington (UKIP, Blakeney and Bream) told the Review: "This is a new shuttle service brought in to help people who were supposed to be facing being stranded at Elton Corner. But nobody arrived to use it. I have made enquiries as to why this was so, and am waiting for answers from the relevant departments. But I can say that we at Gloucestershire County Council are still committed to ensuring that there is a continuity of service from Gloucester to Lydney.

"However, this commitment has to be balanced against the cost to the ratepayers for providing this service."

Meanwhile, Stagecoach have made an eleventh hour change of heart over the 6.20pm bus, service 23, from Gloucester to Lydney, reinstating a service that had been facing the axe from Monday.

Cllr Leppington said: "I do feel that there needs to be better communication about the situation of the timetable changes, and for the company to make a lot more effort to inform their customers of changes like this. Is it asking too much for them to actually let people know when and where their buses are running?

"I heard that the decision to perform a u-turn on this service was only taken last Friday, which brings into question how the company are organising their planning. It also calls into question their research into bus usage in the area, which was the fuel that forced the timetable changes in the first place."

Sue Dubois, a seasoned campaigner and architect of the Better Buses 4 The Forest pressure group, commented: "I'm not sure why the take up for the shuttle was non existent, except that it was not well advertised in advance. In fact, the shuttle is a new idea that has been taken on by Forest Community Transport, which is being run by Lydney Dial-A-Ride, and I think that the timetables were produced quite late in the day for letting people know."

She added: "I have spoken with transport managers at the county council, and am waiting to hear their response. The whole situation over the new timetable changes is a bit of a mess."

Further problems have also been identified with the new timetable from Forest Community Transport after they published details for the 35a/23a bus services.

On the 35a, which runs from Monmouth to Cinderford, the route is given as including the road from English Bicknor to Lydbrook, despite the fact that this road has been closed due to a landslip for some weeks.

On the 23a, the new shuttle bus service is simply given as running from Cinderford to Lydney - with no mention of any link with the terminated Stagecoach bus.

Louise Curry, manager of Forest Community Transport and Lydney Dial-A-Ride said: "The no-show for the shuttle bus was a surprise, but was probably due to the fact that this is a very new service, and will need more publicity. We will be posting information on Twitter and Facebook about it.

"But one point is that it does run from Cinderford to Lydney, so that is a useful link too for local commuters."

She added: Forest Community Transport was set up to direct people to getting out and about in the area, and we hope that these new link services will contribute to that ethos."

Despite requests, no statement from Stagecoach West was received when the Review went to press.