Sunday buses have massively changed over the last couple of years for the better.  In Melksham during the day, we now have roughly 4 departures an hour - one each to Bath, Devizes, Chippenham and Trowbridge.  Which is different to 1 an hour - alternately to Devizes and Bath.  And I hear reports of full-and-standing.

Extra SATURDAY evening services on Devizes to Bath and I have used a couple of them - not the one I expect to be busiest, but never the less decent loading.

To come next (in no particular order)
* Sunday evening on 273
* All evenings on x34
* Sunday x34 to extend to Trinity Church
* Melksham second town bus for "route 16" - Railway Station to Police Station (and important places between!!)

 
I must admit as I was posting that comment I thought I was leaving myself open for that comment. 

With changing trends I wonder how long it will be before Sunday services come closer to the rest of the week bar some peak hour runs.   

 

For anyone looking to connect into th 271/2/3 to Box, Atworth, Melksham, Bowerhill and Devizes - grouriously immaterial as there id no service on a Sunday evening  And the first bus on a Monday morning doesn't pass the Manvers Street stop (but not stop) until 07:47.    A Sunday evening service would be very useful indeed; an early morning service really not on the "would be used" radar!

 
For any services running late on Sundays, they won't be stopping in any event.

Manvers Street will be closed between 20:00 and 05:00 on Sunday 5th, Sunday 12th and Sunday 19th October to facilitate carriageway works.

 
Regarding the change of tenant from Debenhams to M&S I've deleted a couple of my posts as I'd picked up the wrong end of the wrong stick. tl:dr M&S will be closing the Manvers Street entrance and unmasking the glazing there.

A relevant planning application is 24/02890/FUL, covering M&S's changes to entrances and to the Manvers Street Collonades - including the closure of the Manvers Street entrance and its replacement with glazing to match the rest, and changing the lighting beneath the collonade there.

The police commented, flagging that the sightlines into the collonade aren't good which makes the area not feel safe, they refer to the columns as a 'Crime generator' and suggest mitigations, particularly since the closure of the store entrance will reduce footfall.

The planning officer observed that the black vinyl applied to the windows there by the previous tenant does not have planning permission and a condition of the decision to permit the application is that the windows must be clear-glazed with sightlines to and from the store interior, which will very much change the appearance of the Manvers-Street-facing collonade for the better - which will be  further enhanced as M&S intend to improve the lighting too. The area is already covered by CCTV.

Mark

 
Yup....

It's ~60 metres from the station exit and one pelican crossing to the start of the Manvers Street bus bay. If you'd reached the start of the bay and had your hand out as a bus turned the corner the driver would likely stop for you as by the time they'd come to a halt you'd be at the door of the bus.

Comparing this with the bus station. The far end, from which the buses that are routed via Manvers Street depart, is ~150 metres from the station exit, and again, one pelican crossing. Alternatively, the traveller may need to cross the road to check both sides of Dorchester Street to see if anything useful is leaving - the 6a, the 20, and the frequent University services leave not from the bus station but from the north side of the street, so the traveller will need to keep an eye on both the bus station and the bus stops across the road from it.

Then, factor in the journey the bus makes from the bus station to the Manvers Street stop. For the bus, it's slow. Two sets of traffic lights, the first at the exit from the bus station (where someone on foot may need to wait as the bus they might have caught departs), and then a 90 degree left turn at the second, which owing to the traffic light phasing is I think guaranteed to be red when the bus arrives at the lights.

Put this together and Manvers Street stop has the potential to accelerate journeys for people changing between train and bus - firstly (and especially) in the evenings when the bus timetable is sparse enough for buses to stop there without causing congestion at the stop or increasing overall journey times while offering a big improvement in the service for travellers.

Mark

 
Actually in my experience the train is usually later than that, and my "sprinting" isn't what it used to be
Yes you're correct of course, which is why if I know far enough in advance that I'm going to have to take the bus I take an earlier train (Portsmouth?). I did moan at Faresaver once when the bus departed about 30 secs early, which was enough for me to miss it.

 

1. Bus transit time from closing doors in the bus station thought waiting for a gap in other buses to push back then queuing as other push back too perhaps, but waiting at the traffic lights to exit the bus station, and driving along and past the lights at the railway station as it turns into Manvers Street. I haven't done a series of observations on this, but I estimate it's typically 2 or 3 minutes.      And with the train arriving in from Bristol at :11 and the bus leaving at :15 ...

2. Bus Station pedestrian congestion from walking in the door of the bus station through to the 'gate' from which your bus leaves ... OK, perhaps just another 30 seconds but it all counts.

 
I make the trip from Bath train to bus station every now again, typically when the Chippenham-Melksham train has been cancelled so take the 271 bus instead. And I've never thought "I wish I could catch the bus in Manvers Street instead of the bus station"; in fact it hadn't occurred to me that there might be an alternative until I read this topic.

Google Earth tells me it's about 100m from the train station side exit to the bus station, compared to about 70m from the front exit to the Manvers Street stop. I appreciate I'm lucky enough to be fully mobile so an extra 30m bothers me less than others, but it still seems like a small difference. Or am I missing something?

 
Soo... has this been discussed before with the powers, who have rejected it on grounds of slowing down the buses + congestion at the stop? Especially in the evening, it could be said that both of those arguments are paper tigers.

Mark

 
Thanks for this - that's me heading down there in a bit with a tape measure - the pavement isn't an ordinary one as it's tucked beneath the ex-Debenhams and future M&S collonade, so, plenty of width and of course it's sheltered too. In the evening it can be an uneasy place to wait though as the sightlines aren't good and there's little company as so few buses call there. Then there's the layby for the buses... not sure but I think it can accomodate three - as long as a tour bus hasn't popped into it for an extended nap.

WECA are now in receipt of an email about this.

Mark

 

I believe so ... inputs are that (a) it would slow down bus routes and (b) lead to congestion both on the road and on the pavement.  It would also be excellent for those of us looking to connect from trains to buses at Bath, especially those of us who are in danger of having our blood pressure expose as we rush along Dorchester Street to the Bus station to be passed by the bus we wanted to catch on its way to Manvers street where the connection would have been made.

It could be solved by the UK adopting the fare system used in Luxembourg, which would cut pick up bus stop dwell times; set down time is clearly not a problem, as inbound buses do all stop in Manvers Street.

 
If every bus heading up Manvers Street from Bath bus station called at the Manvers Street bus stop this would much improve things for passengers - presumably the reason they do not is down to the potential for congestion at the stop.

In the evenings, congestion ceases to be a concern as the bus service thins out - is there any other reason that all buses could not call there? It would transform the connectivity for anyone changing from train to bus there as it would eliminate the slog to the bus station, a game of 'Hunt the bus' and the likelihood that as the passenger is walking to the bus station, they see the bus they need heading past them and away.

Mark