A VITAL bus service in Abergavenny is to be axed, Stagecoach has announced.

A petition has been set up to save the number 45 bus route from Llwynu estate to Abergavenny.

The petition states: "We request that the parties concerned change their minds and continue to provide the 45 bus route in Abergavenny.

"The route is vital to the communities it serves, especially the pensioners, the disabled and young people without access to a car."

A spokeswoman for Stagecoach in South Wales said: "We have managed to keep the Service 45 Abergavenny - Llwynu Estate local service running despite declining revenue from various sources, and increasing operating costs.

"This service is funded by bus passengers who use the service, it is therefore a commercially operated bus service.

"Unfortunately we can continue no longer with this situation as we see little hope for improvement in the commercial sustainability of the service with further cuts to funding on the horizon.

"We have reluctantly taken the decision to cease the service on an entirely commercial basis from 22 October 2017.

"We have already informed Monmouthshire County Council of our decision.

"We should like to thank our many customers for their patronage over the years and very much regret that we are no longer is a position to continue this service on a fully commercially sustainable basis beyond 22 Oct 2017.

"We will work with Monmouthshire County Council to assist them in their considerations of providing an alternative service provision."

Richard Cope, Business and Strategy Manager of Monmouthshire’s Passenger Transport Unit (PTU) at Monmouthshire County Council said: “We officially received notification from the Traffic Commissioner for Wales on Thursday 7th September regarding the withdrawal by Stagecoach of the 45 Abergavenny town service.

"This is a commercially registered bus service and receives no subsidy from Monmouthshire County Council. The decision by Stagecoach to withdraw this service has been made for ‘commercial’ reasons’”.

View the petition at you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-45-bus-route-in-abergavenny?bucket&source=facebook-share-button&time=1505122149