First Bus services from Bath to West Wiltshire, Salisbury and Frome - changes

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From First Bus, West of England - confirming and clarifying members-only posts in our "Rumours Mill" area at http://www.passenger.chat/22280 .

Service D1: from Monday to Saturday Service D1 will operate every 30 minutes between Bath and Trowbridge (Westbury Link Road) with one bus an hour continuing onwards to Warminster.  Journeys to Salisbury continue to operate every two hours. There are some alterations to running times and departure times on the majority of journeys so customers are advised to check the new timetables when available.  The service to Wiltshire College will stop on Bradley Road to avoid congestion on the approach to the College and improve reliability.

The Sunday service operates hourly to Warminster via Trowbridge.  This doubles the frequency of buses between Trowbridge and Warminster.

Service D2: Buses will operate every 30 minutes in peak and every hour off peak Monday to Friday. There are alterations to the departure and running times of all journeys so please check the timetable (here).  On Saturdays buses will operate every 30 minutes in peak, which is extended on a Saturday to reflect customer travel patterns, and hourly off peak. Sunday buses operate every two hours as currently with slightly revised running times.

All service D2 will operate the same route in Frome. Buses will travel via Brunel Way (The Clink) in both directions; from Frome Marketplace buses will operate via Critchill to Sainsbury’s and return via The Butts. The Sunday service will continue to operate every two hours as currently with slightly revised running times, so again customers are advised to check the timetable before setting off on their journey.

Service D3: there are no changes to the route of  Service D3. Buses will run  every 30 minutes during peak time and hourly off peak from Monday to Friday. However there are some departure and running time alterations so customers are advised to check the timetable. On Saturdays buses will operate every 30 minutes in peak  which is extended on a Saturday to reflect customer travel patterns and hourly off peak. .Sunday buses operate every two hours to Urchfont as currently with revised running times.

[rogerw]

New timetables now published on the First web site:
https://www.firstgroup.com/bristol-bath-and-west/routes-and-maps/route-maps
Scroll down to the West of England section

[grahame]

New timetables now published on the First web site:
https://www.firstgroup.com/bristol-bath-and-west/routes-and-maps/route-maps
Scroll down to the West of England section

I have the final .pdfs of the leaflets to upload tomorrow

[grahame]

New timetables now published on the First web site:
https://www.firstgroup.com/bristol-bath-and-west/routes-and-maps/route-maps
Scroll down to the West of England section

I have the final .pdfs of the leaflets to upload tomorrow

They're in a different thread - see ((here)) - I just notices this promise to upload them ...

Severe disquiet in Westbury last night at how late the public / users are finding out about the changes (and about the effects of the changes on passengers too).

My summary slide on buses from http://www.passenger.chat/wsb_201911.pdf

* Current service cuts and lack of service outside immediately profitable times is a concern. The more so if First sell off to an asset stripper

* Minimal funding for socially necessary service – no solution?

* Yet government promised more money and support for buses.  Where?  When?  How?

[rogerw]

First have now given notice of their intention to withdraw service X31 wef 5 January 2020 (N & P no 2727 dated 28/11)

[grahame]

First have now given notice of their intention to withdraw service X31 wef 5 January 2020 (N & P no 2727 dated 28/11)

Faresaver picking up evening and Sunday services. This is a first for them, and welcome indeed if they can also provide a single vehicle evening and Sunday service Chippenham - Lacock - Melksham - Semington - Trowbridge and (perhaps) Frome.   Now that the operation is open extra hours anyway, what about it?

The Faresaver X31 evening service is comparable to what First have been running ... Sunday actually better with a 90 minute frequency rather than 120 minutes - sensible for a two-vehicle service with a journey time of a little over an hour.  Only fly in ointment is final bus from Chippenham to Corsham on a Sunday is over 2 hours earlier - 18:40 rather than 20:55 ... so a 17:30 last departure from Paddington as opposed to 19:30 at the moment if you're heading home to Corsham after a weekend away.