A NEW bus service which travellers can book to use is up and running in the Forest.

The service, called The Robin, is a £1.35million pilot scheme launched by Gloucestershire County Council.

It started on Monday (October 17) in the south of the Forest and will be extended to the Cotswolds.

Residents can book journeys via an app or over the phone.

The service will provide a link from bus stops in hamlets or village centres to local transport hubs and train stations, making existing public transport services more accessible.

It will include Coleford, Cinderford and Lydney and villages from Beachley to Minsterworth and others including Huntley, Bigsweir and Christchurch.

The service is a two-year pilot, funded by the county council and is being run by local operators.

It will be available between 7am and 7pm Monday to Saturday except for Bank Holidays.

Cllr Philip Robinson (Con, Mitcheldean), Cabinet member responsible for education, skills and bus transport, said: “Bus transport is crucial for many people who live in rural areas.

“This pilot will provide imaginative and much needed support to the bus services we already have across Gloucestershire.

“It will provide greater choice in transport by helping people get around our rural communities.

“These brightly coloured, cheerful buses are unmissable and will provide a lifeline to our rural communities.”

The Robin was given a £1.35 million boost after the county council was one of only 17 successful local authorities, out of the 56 that applied, to the Department for Transport’s Rural Mobility Fund.

For more information, visit www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/therobin, or call 0345 2638139.

The app can be downloaded from the Apple and Android stores.