Late March saw the last journeys of the 65 bus between Chepstow and Monmouth driven by driver Rob Furnival.

His friendly and caring approach to driving the bus has helped create a real community on this local bus service, so important to people living in rural areas.

Friends of the 65 Bus arranged for passengers to say farewell and express their gratitude to Rob. The 9.30am arriving into Monmouth was full with passengers, a true reflection of the popularity of Rob, who has been driving the route for eight years and was supportive in the campaign to save the bus from being axed in 2018.

Rob was presented by Friends of the 65 with a ‘This is your Life’ style photograph book showing all the important events on the 65 during his time as driver. 

Villagers from Devauden also presented Rob with a photograph of the bus he had driven along the route.

The 65 will continue to run between Chepstow and Monmouth and serve all the villages. Monmouthshire County Council handed the operation of the service to Newport Bus after Easter and the new timetable will commence as of Tuesday 2nd April. 

MCC will continue to run the 7am from Chepstow and the 5.30pm from Monmouth.

F65B and all passengers thank Rob for his dedication to the route and wish him well for the future.

A spokesman for MCC said: “Following the completion of the tender exercise MCC is now in a position to review  timetables to identify any opportunities to improve the provision, particularly those that impact on learners and rural areas. One change that has raised concerns from a small number of residents is moving the 17.30 service of the 65 bus back to 16.30, as this does not allow for some after school activities. One resident has also asked for retention of an early service at 7 am, which they use for work. 

“We will therefore be re-introducing both of those journeys from the 8th April but will continue to monitor patronage data to determine the proven demand for these buses.”