A £1.35million rural minibus pilot has launched in the Forest of Dean.

Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) has rolled out the on-demand service just days after it was slammed for buses being cut in the district.

The new minibus service, The Robin, will operate from today (Oct 17) in the southern area of the Forest with an area of the north Cotswolds to follow.

GCC said the "creative pilot" will last two years and fill a gap where there is no bus provision. It said the launch was "all the more timely" given the issues with Stagecoach in the county.

The council expressed "dismay" on Thursday after Stagecoach announced it was cutting numerous bus services  in the county.

Stagecoach blamed the cuts on "a very difficult set of challenges largely outside our control" but did not elaborate on what they were.

GCC has said it will be looking for alternative providers to operate the routes cancelled by Stagecoach.

Forest Of Dean District Council leader Tim Gwilliam blamed both for the "savage" cuts  and said he would be wriring to GCC to find out how it planned to mitigate them.

He said the council was partly to blame as it had not switched so many bus contracts over to Stagecoach.

The Robin started as a funding bid by GCC in 2019 and was given a £1.35million grant from the Department for Transport's Rural Mobility Fund.

Cllr Philip Robinson, GCC 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 will operate 7am to 7pm except bank holidays and is being run in conjunction with local bus operators, who have not been named. Passengers will be picked up and dropped off from stops within the Forest.

Customers can book journeys via an app or over the phone on 0345 2638139 up to two weeks in advance or as little as one hour before wanting to travel.

A single fare of 0-7 miles costs £2.50 (£1.50 child) and anything more is £4 (£3 child). Concessionary pass holders travel for free.

The council said it plans to tweak the service within the two year pilot scheme as needed and to extend the service into year three if it proves successful.