Two extra passengers joined the Friends of the No 65 bus last Thursday March 24 for its Chepstow-bound journey from Monmouth.

County Councillors Jane Pratt (Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Neighbourhood Services) and Richard John (Leader of Monmouthshire County Council) were welcomed on board by Rosemary Corcoran and bus driver Rob Furnival.

The councillors have long been supporters of the bus and Rosemary said it was “great to have them travel with the passengers”.

“Both councillors seemed impressed with the effort and commitment of F65B in promoting the bus and working with MCC to make the service successful” she added.

With ever increasing fuel prices the bus is a good choice of transport and now goes through all the villages on its way to Chepstow rather than the direct route of the B4293.

“It’s the only bus that the council run themselves so it’s important to support it” said Rosemary.

Cllr Pratt said she travels on buses when she visits her children “but I can’t use buses where I live as there aren’t any, “ she added.

The bus route has been threatened many times and when the bus route was in danger of being axed three years ago, the passengers launched a campaign to keep the bus route and were successful.

Cllr John said it was a great opportunity to hear first hand from passengers about their experiences of bus services in Monmouthshire and what a vital lifeline the number 65 is, especially for residents in the rural communities between Monmouth and Chepstow.

“We were able to discuss planned upgrades to the service like contactless card payments, better promotion of the bus timetable and improvements to bus shelters. It was also great to hear the positive feedback from passengers of the recent trial of an electric bus, which seems like a great success.

“The 65 bus route is a really important one for so many of our residents. We’re committed to protecting and enhancing the service, so even more people can enjoy the benefits of travelling for work, leisure or shopping by bus.”

Rob does three morning runs between Chepstow and Monmouth and the afternoon driver does two trips. The first leaves Chepstow at 7am arriving at Monmouth 7.45am and then returns to Chepstow for 8.30am and then heads back to Monmouth for 9.30am.