PEOPLE in Combe St Nicholas are calling for an extra bus in their village at peak times.

Stephanie White, 79, said people are becoming frustrated when the number 99 and 99a bus from Chard to Taunton is already full when it reaches the village as students head into college in Taunton.

She hopes Stagecoach can put on an extra bus close to the current 7.52am service in the shortterm to alleviate the problem.

She told the News: “There have been quite a few buses which are full with schoolchildren since the start of term.

“One of the problems is the roadworks towards Henlade into Taunton because the double decker bus that normally takes a lot of those is making them late for college, so they use the number 99 and 99a.

“It’s a good service normally, but in the interim I want them to put on an extra bus.”

Stephanie has been driving her grandson into Somerset College, but said it is a worry for people in Combe St Nicholas who have hospital appointments.

She said: “It’s a much valued service in the village, but hospital appointments are like gold dust and people don’t want to miss them.”

Cllr Nigel Pearson, who represents Chard North on Somerset County Council, said he has emailed Stagecoach about the issue, adding that it had been a problem “from time to time for some years”.

Chard & Ilminster News:

Cllr Nigel Pearson.

Gerry Sayers, parish council chairman, said: “We did a survey as part of the parish plan and there were a number of comments about the bus service.

“At peak hours it’s only natural that the bus is going to be full, but the rest of the service is reasonably good.

“An extra service would be a good thing if Stagecoach thinks it’s warranted, but it has to be justified.

“I’m quite sure it’s a struggle because by the time the bus has left Chard and reached Combe St Nicholas it’s probably pretty full.

“It’s reassuring that the service is being used when a lot are closing down because of lack of use.”

A Stagecoach spokesman apologised to passengers from villages between Chard and Taunton who could not board the bus due to it being full, adding: “We sometimes experience higher than normal numbers of students on bus services in September as they settle into their new routines.

“While things settle down we’ve sent a controller to Chard to monitor the situation and encourage more students to use our alternative double decker route 96 to help free up space on the 99 for residents of the villages.

“We also run an earlier 99 journey which arrives in Taunton just before 8am which may help some people.

“Unfortunately, we’re unable to run larger vehicles on the 99 due to the limited size of the roads through the villages, but we’ll certainly be considering an improved timetable if the situation continues.”