The Council has announced a series of improvements to rural bus services to Bath from the start of September, thanks to some new funding.
Thanks to the Council funding, Farrington Gurney will have a direct daily off-peak service to Bath for the first time; services between Whitchurch and Keynsham will be improved; and there will be vehicle investment in the Chew Valley.
Councillor Caroline Roberts (Lib Dem, Newbridge), Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “As part of our retendering of bus services, we’ve tried to use our budget to provide services for as many local people as possible.
“More connections between Farrington Gurney and Bath are something local people have asked for and we expect this new daily off-peak service will be welcomed – it’s a journey that was only previously possible by travelling via Bristol.”
Service 768 will change to provide a daily Monday – Saturday service between Bath and Farrington Gurney via Timsbury, Radstock and Midsomer Norton. The service willbe operated under contract by Citistar Ltd.
Residents of Clandown, Camerton, Timsbury, Writhlington and Englishcombe will have more journeys to Bath on most days of the week compared to the current 768 service, however the service will no longer call at Clutton or Temple Cloud; passengers from these two villages will be able to use the hourly 379 service that connects them to Bristol, Bath, and Midsomer Norton.
Because some passengers in Clutton may live a distance away from the main road, where the 379 stops, other services are being extended to serve the Station Road stop: service 754 on Mondays and service 185 on Thursdays will provide links to Midsomer Norton from Station Road, Clutton.
Also from 1st September, the 636 service between Whitchurch and Keynsham will operate on three days a week rather than two; it will run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, rather than just Tuesdays and Fridays.
Connected to this, the 668 service (Midsomer Norton – Timsbury – Keynsham – Bristol) will change and will run on a Monday instead of a Tuesday, and the section of service 757 that operates between Combe Hay and Bath on Wednesdays will no longer operate because of lack of demand.
Service 672 that serves the Chew Valley (Blagdon – West Harptree – Chew Magna – Dundry – Bristol) will be operated by Bugler Coaches from September 1.
Bath & North East Somerset Council has agreed to provide £32,000 to support the company in buying a more modern low-floor vehicle bus for the daytime service.
