A petition has been established to call for a new bus route between Abergavenny and Monmouth.

After paying a visit to London and witnessing the ease of transport throughout the city, Sarah Woodall from Llanvapley decided to start an online petition for the people in the area to sign, in the hope of getting the Director of Transport at Monmouthshire County Council Transport to commission a bus route along this stretch.

Sarah said, "I don't want to criticise the council because they have done great work with all they have done on recycling and other issues, but transport in our area is an issue that is just not good enough.

"It's not a big thing to ask for, we already have a bus stop, we just need a bus."

The B4233 connects the two towns and with a number of villages between many residents are unhappy that there is no bus route in place to serve this road and have shown their support to Sarah and her petition.

Llanvapley Community Councillor, Robert Walker, who signed the petition said, ""As a community council we have already been looking into this, and we are happy to support Sarah in her petition.

"Around here you need to have a car, or rely on the goodwill of the community to take you places, especially if you are elderly. Of course there is a big community spirit here, but you don't want to have to rely on it all of the time."

Sarah said, "There are hundreds of people who struggle to get out of their villages on a daily basis if they do not drive. What makes it worse is the road is very narrow and there is such poor visibility that most of us don't feel it is safe to cycle or walk down."

Elderly people who do not drive have no alternative means of getting around the area, and this petition is hoping to make the council see that this can cause isolation for a lot of older people.

Sarah said, "My mother cannot drive since she had a stroke, and though she is fit and able, there is no means of public transport for her to come and visit us here.

"It is sad because there is so much around here for people to do, and some really great places to see - local pubs are a really a great place to socialise, but many people don't have the means of getting to them."

Sarah has especially noted the affect this has on the children in the area, with many communicating with their friends in neighbouring villages online.

Sarah said, "There is a great community among the young people here, but that seems to exist almost entirely online as they can't get out to see each other.

"It is patronising to have to chaperone them whenever they go anywhere, but it just isn't safe for them to ride their bikes down the busy road to see their friends, who only live several miles away."

Mr Walker added, "The young people in our villages, and there are a lot of them, have to rely on their parents to take them out and bring them home, and it really stops their independence."

Not only will it help the people of the area, there are also environmental and health benefits to the introduction of a bus route.

"At least thirty of us pass each other on a regular basis running around in our cars, if we can get a bus service it can reduce pollution and help save money on fuel, making our villages and our country that bit greener," said Councillor Walker.

But the council has argued that there is a means of transport in place, which can be requested by residents in these villages, and any changes to this would have to work within the restrictions of the decline in council budget.

Richard Cope, Monmouthshire County Council's Passenger Transport Unit Manager, said, "We already run a Grass Routes service along this route. The Grass Routes transport scheme is a responsive, flexible bus service that makes trips on request.

"Grass Routes services are demand-led, so if there was sufficient need we could look at increasing the service's frequency.

"The challenge we face at the moment is a projected fall in the council's budget of £20 million over the next four years. In the light of this, we are reviewing all our services. So any new service would have to be commercially viable."

But Sarah feels this should be a priority, as it could discourage people from living within the area.

She said, "I worry that this lack of transport is going to deter people from coming here, and worse urge people to move out of the area.

"We want to be getting people into our rural areas and enjoying them, not forcing them to leave."

Sarah has suggested that any new route could include Llanddewi Rhydderch, Llanvapley, Llantillio Crossenny, Tal-y-Coed, Onen, Hendre and Rockfield village, and will hand over the petition to the council when she has reached over 100 signatures.

She added, "Please sign our petition if you can, together we can reduce traffic, pollution and increase the independence of young and old alike who would so much benefit from it."