Elderly residents in Keynsham who say they already feel “completely stranded” are set to lose several local buses this month as part of the withdrawal of 30 bus routes in the West of England. Keynsham will lose Stagecoach services 663, 664 and 665 and the First Bus 178, which is to be replaced with the new 522 bus from Bristol to Bath.
Keynsham will benefit from the new on-demand minibus service but there is scepticism over how it will work, especially for older residents who don’t carry mobile phones. A retired bus driver named as Mr Gale, who lives with his wife on the Chandag estate in east Keynsham, is no longer able to drive and says that the deterioration of the bus service has left him and his neighbours “completely locked in”.
Mr Gale, who used to drive the 178, said that up until several years ago it was an hourly service they could rely on and would use for trips to Bristol. But the bus route has since changed and it no longer stops at the estate but on Wellsway instead, which the 85-year-old says is too far away for him or elderly neighbours to walk to.
