A Herefordshire bus company will operate the new Ledbury to Ross-on-Wye bus route.

The contract for the new 232 Daffodil Line, run by community group Buses4Us, has been awarded to DRM Bus.

And the service, which will also stop at Much Marcle, Dymock, Newent, Gorsley and Upton Bishop, will start on Sunday, April 2.

Buses4Us was formed by residents, business owners and bus users following the cancellation of the old 132 Ledbury-Ross service in February 2022.

It has since been working hard to fund a replacement service, eventually securing the financial backing of every parish and town council along the new route, as well as Herefordshire and Gloucestershire county councils.

READ MORE: 'Daffodil Line' bus service hoped to be up and running by Easter

Much Marcle was the last parish council to get on board, agreeing to support the new service at a meeting last week.

Businesses including the new Wye Inn in Newent have also pledged support.

Clare Stone, of Buses4Us, said: “We’re delighted to get to the end of phase one with the support of everybody - every single parish and town council, the two county councils financially and the practical support from Gloucestershire’s Integrated Transport Unit, who ran the tender process.”

The 232 will run every two hours from Ledbury, seven days a week, with an evening service on Friday and Saturday “until pub closing time”.

Tickets will be £2 for a single, £1 for a short hop, £3 for a return on Sundays and £12 for an all-day family ticket.

“We want to make it so the bus is affordable for everyone,” said Clare.

“Now we start the job of getting passengers on board, which we have lots of plans for.

“And there’s more fundraising to do because we’re going to support the service financially as much as is needed for the first three years.

“When we launched the 632 shopper service from Dymock to Newent, it took people a couple of months to really realise it was there.

“So we know it’s a slow process, but we’re in it for the long haul.”