cheltenham-based Marchants Coaches is to withdraw from all local bus work at the end of October
In a notice on its website, managing director Roger Marchant says: ‘This decision has not been taken lightly. The concessionary reimbursement rate has been a major issue with the majority of customers being cardholders on rural routes.
‘Constant demands from the county council and Driver & Vehicle Services Agency for more information have added to administration costs. Roadworks causing delays and diversions have severely affected our reliability plus a series of breakdowns with the buses has blemished our reputation.’
Family-owned Marchants operates three buses on Cheltenham circular routes W1 and W2, and one on the 606 service from Cheltenham through the Cotswolds to Chipping Camden. On Sundays, the 606 is further extended to Stratford-upon-Avon. All of the routes receive financial support from Gloucestershire County Council.
Marchants says that the cancellation dates ‘coincide with the end of the financial support under the short term contract with Gloucestershire County Council’.
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