TWO new bus services have started in a village thanks to the efforts of its parish council.

The routes linking Menheniot with Liskeard and Saltash are part of a community transport provision arranged by Cornwall Council with the Saltash Red Bus.

Menheniot lost its regular bus service in 2022, but following discussions between the parish council and the local authority, a weekly service to Liskeard and back launched in April of this year, and this runs on a Friday.

The community bus has been a real success, says local council chairman Adrian Cole. Now two new return routes have been added: the 453 on Wednesdays (Menheniot to Liskeard) and the 451 to Saltash via Carkeel on a Monday.

“We carried out a short passenger survey in May to get some reaction to the new weekly service that replaced the former daily service,” said Cllr Cole.

“The results were very clear: passengers were overwhelmingly satisfied with every aspect of the journey – value for money, punctuality and journey time.”

High on passengers’ wish list were extra journeys into Liskeard, and linking up to the rest of the bus network, and the two new routes have been designed to go some way to meeting that demand.

One resident who commented in the survey said: “The new bus service is absolutely wonderful. At first I was a bit sceptical that this would work, only running once a week and being quite a long journey.

“But the buses are comfortable, and the drivers are so kind and helpful to everyone. They really couldn’t be more obliging.”

The parish council is promoting the new service with large-print timetables at every bus stop the route serves, and has set up a Menheniot Bus Users Group to give continuous feedback to Cornwall Council on quality and performance.

For more details visit www.menheniotparish.org.uk