SOMERSET County Council (SCC) is funding replacement bus services on two routes after they were withdrawn by an operator.

First West of England is set to discontinue its 126 service from Wells to Weston-super-Mare and evening services on the D2 between Bath and Frome.

A new operator, Libra Travel, will continue to operate the SCC leg of the 126 service between Wells and Axbridge and serve the Blue School in Wells during term time.

SCC will also fund evening weekend D2 journeys at 8.10pm and 10.10pm from Frome to Bath and 9.10pm and 11.10pm trips from Bath to Frome. 

First West of England will continue to provide daytime, Saturday evening, and Sunday journeys on the D2.

The announcement comes after thousands of people signed petitions calling on authorities to save the 126 service. 

One petition came from Wells MP James Heappey, who presented his petition to SCC in August, and the other from the Wells Liberal Democrats.

SCC’s lead member for transport and digital, Cllr Mike Rigby, said: “We’re delighted we’ve been able to step in and keep these lifeline services running.

“We know how important they are to local people and since the announcement that they were going to be withdrawn our team has been working really hard to find a solution to keep some of the routes running.

“We’ll continue to do all we can but we can’t stress enough that people need to support their services to ensure they are maintained.

“In March, Government funding runs out again and many of these services will be under threat – we’re working hard to ensure they continue but we need people to use them.”

In recent months, the council has stepped in to save other services, including the 3 service (Bishops Hull to Taunton), the 30 Frome town service, and the 68 (Yeovil to Barwick and Stoford).

SCC and the Somerset Bus Partnership has launched a new campaign, Bus It, to get more people onto the county's buses.

For more information, visit www.somerset.gov.uk/busit.