ANGER has been voiced over a decision to axe a ‘vital’ bus service between Newport, Chepstow and Bristol.

Stagecoach West has said it will no longer be running the Severn Express or X14 from Sunday, June 14, due to the service making a loss of more than £5,000 a week.

It took on the service from First West of England in September, which said changes including the removal of the Severn Bridge tolls had made it challenging to run.

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But commuter Steve Knott, who has used the service for more than 10 years, blamed “a marked decline in the reliability of the service” since Stagecoach took over for a loss of passengers.

Mr Knott, from Chepstow, said withdrawing the service was “a terrible decision.”

“Cancelling these services will certainly have a negative impact for many people, for the economy and for the environment as it will force those people who are able to, to use their cars,” he said.

“This service should be seen as a vital link for people in our community.”

Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, Monmouthshire council’s Labour group leader, has called on the Welsh Government and Monmouthshire Council to work on a solution.

“This is awful news for the communities and residents of Chepstow, Caldicot, Rogiet, Magor and Undy,” he said. “Bristol is an economic powerhouse, providing jobs and job opportunities across a wide range of different sectors.

“It is critical to the lifeblood of south Monmouthshire.

“Stopping the main bus service to Bristol will not only discourage commuters being environmentally conscious, but will also disproportionately affect people on lower incomes.

“Chepstow already has huge traffic pressures; this will only add to it.”

Rupert Cox, managing director of Stagecoach West, said that since September, the company has “worked hard to manage a service that costs far more to operate than it collects in customer revenue.”

“We took action in January to stop running trips carrying the fewest people, prioritising the busiest parts of the service,” Mr Cox said.

“Unfortunately, the remaining buses continued to run at a loss of more than £5,000 a week, before any impact caused by Covid-19 is taken into account.

“This loss is no longer sustainable and is preventing investment in the rest of our network.

“We’re sorry for the impact this decision will have on the small number of regular customers travelling with us.”