A POPULAR bus service in Machynlleth is to be reinstated after a council blunder which led to its departure was highlighted in the Cambrian News.

The 34A town service will now be extended to run eight times a day on weekdays, with services starting at 8.44am and the last service running at 4.29pm.

The service, which will be operated by Lloyds Coaches, has been welcomed by local councillor Michael Williams, who said he was pleased that there would be additional buses running through the day on the 34A route.

He said: “There seems to be considerably more services than there were before.

“I very much welcome the initiative by Lloyds Coaches in conjunction with the local authority.

“People who used the town service were very concerned at losing something that was so well used.”

Passengers were left angry early in September when the service stopped after a Powys County Council error meant the service was not advertised for companies to run the service.

Machynlleth town councillors warned that it needed to be reintroduced as soon as possible.

Gareth Jones, a former Machynlleth mayor, insisted at the time that it was “nothing short of mismanagement of the highest degree”.

After the service was saved, Mr Jones praised the Cambrian News for highlighting the issue.

“It just shows that ‘people power’ can work if voices are raised in protest at unjust decisions or corporate mismanagement,” he said.