Santa, please can I have a bus from Berryfield to Melksham station to match the new train services!?
Not sure about Santa, but we know another man with a beard who might be able to help.
The two buses a day on Service 15 that run via Berryfield will get you to ASDA, but unfortunately in both cases you would only have a couple of minutes to get across to Melksham station before the train arrives.
I suspect even the fittest amongst us would struggle to make that.
buses@wiltshire.gov.uk is worth dropping an email to on this subject, particularly if you can demonstrate that demand exists for an improved and/or modified service.
Both the Chippenham - Frome bus routes stop at what they call "Melksham / Berryfield" which is at the Waney Edge - the call is a minute or two after the Somerset Arms stop in Semington, which is show in the Monday to Friday timetables at the following times:
234 (First) @ 0702 0807 0917 1033 1133 1233 1333 1433 1533 1636 1736 1833 2029 2149 and 2354
x34 (Faresaver) @ 7:55 9:04 9:34 10:24 10:54 11:24 11:54 12:24 12:54 13:24 13:54 14:24 15:24 16:24 16:54 and 17:26
As I don't live in Berryfield nor know it particularly well, I wouldn't like to comment on how suitable this stopping location is for the users and potential users from the various streets off Semington Road.
They both serve Melksham town centre before continuing towards Chippenham, on which route they stop at Aldi / McDonalds in what I'll call North Melksham. Usuaully that's around 10 minutes after the times above. That is the stop shown on the station connection notices that are now at the station, but it's a somewhat awkward walk around two sides of a triangle, and involves crossing the A350 twice (once via underpass) or walking along a trunk A road with no footpath.
Return at
x34 (Faresaver) @ 7:05 7:40 8:55 9:25 9:55 10:25 10:55 11:25 11:55 12:25 12:55 13:25 13:55 14:34 15:25 16:14 16:51 17:39
234 (First) @ 0759 0932 1032 1132 1232 1332 1432 1540 1657 1747 1844 1939 2038 and 2241
For consistency, these are Beanacre times and the departure from Aldi / McDonald's (only one road crossing ;-) ) will be around 4 minutes later, taking aroud 10 minutes to "Melksham / Berryfileds". Note that the 14:34 bus takes 30 minutes as it goes via Melksham Oak.
Times differ on Saturdays and there is no service at all on Sundays. And Faresaver are changing their timetable from the beginning (6th?) January; I think the frequency remains the same, though.
First question - looking at during the day ... how does this look?
No decent connection to 09:15 train from Melksham
09:34 bus Berryfield, 10:04 train from Melksham
10:54 bus Berryfield, 11:13 train from Melksham
11:34 bus Berryfield, 12:03 train from Melksham
12:54 bus Berryfield, 13:13 train from Melksham
I would need to try out the 10:54 and 12:54 as they may be a little tight on timing, considering the walk around, and I don't have reliabiity figures for the bus. The 09:34 and 11:34 look muchmore practical, and for Bristol you can take any train and change at Chippenham or at Trowbridge depending on which you get.
Access from Aldi / Mconalds to the station MUCH more easily is an aspiration that's got some considerable activity going in towards its implementation - that would allow the connections that I question above to become much more practical - either as a much shorter and safer route, or with the bus actually calling at the Station.
With forthcoming timetable changes (chances are that the x34 may move closer to the 234 times), and being unfamiliar with the metrics of parts of the requirement (and the demand and timing levels, perceived and in practise) I had better not go too much further. But buses do change (there are other changes in the pipeline) and the changes can be influenced with evidence, flow logic, etc. A complex business and also often frustrated by regulation, competition, the need to serve other flows, and various other distortions.
Lee's suggestions of dropping a line to Wiltshire Council is a good one. And so is Trainer's idea about people who can help - IW, PG, DP, SF working together, supported by JT and RM to provide a quality bus provision. There's no Santa figure I'm afraid, but if you're happy to dress up as / be an elf, have others to Echo your sentiments, and are happy to put in real effort to a realistic approach, it's amazing what can be done. Often the smallest of changes (such as taking space time out of a bus route that's being released by changing its route in Chippenham) and reassigning it to a housing loop in Melksham) may be a two minute wonder to the operator, but your salvation. Bear in mind that of every 10 ideas 9 will turn out to be impractical, but then only one solution is needed, Now is a good time to find it.