Wiltshire bus routes hit by budget cuts

6:00pm Saturday 1st September 2012 in News By Jill Crooks

Richard Gamble, portfolio holder for transport Richard Gamble, portfolio holder for transport

Evening and Sunday bus services are being cut on some routes as Wiltshire Council makes savings.

The changes come into effect on Sunday on services operated by First.

The cuts are to services subsidised by Wiltshire Council which cost tens of thousands of pounds.

Those affected include the 263 service Trowbridge to Studley Green, where the number of evening journeys will be cut back. The last bus on the service will now set off 19 minutes later between Monday and Friday.

The bus will now leave at 11.09pm from the bus stop near Trowbridge Town Hall.

On service 264/265 between Bath, Trowbridge and War-minster the frequency of buses operating Monday to Saturday evenings will be reduced from every 60 minutes to 95 minutes, while on Sundays some late evening journeys are being axed altogether. This means the last journey from Bath to Trowbridge on Sundays will leave at 7.35pm, while the last bus from Trowbridge to Bath will depart at 8.35pm.

Also being lost will be the last bus between Bath and Chippenham on the 232 service. Currently the last bus from Bath leave at 9.45pm. That will now be 7.40pm, arriving in Chippenham at 8.40pm, while from Chippenham the last bus will be at 8.50pm rather than 10.55pm.

In addition, the evening service on the 231 route between the Pewsham estate and Calne will end.

Simon Ford, acting regional network manager for First in the South West, said: “These alterations are regrettable, but in making them we have worked with the council and done what we can to minimise the likely impact on our customers.”

Councillor Richard Gamble, portfolio holder for transport at Wiltshire Council, said evening and Sunday services had lower priority than daytime services and in the case of the 231 cut, that Stagecoach runs a bus service on that route.

He acknowledged that the changes could make life difficult for people who rely on the bus services affected.

He said: “Inevitably any change in services is potentially disruptive to people’s lifestyles and there may be people who depended on them to get to work.

“We have done our best to maintain services as best we can but it’s a challenge to maintain what we have in limited budgets. I can only hope they can find alternatives.”

Comments (4)

8:44pm Sun 2 Sep 12

Terry Chivers says...

Fine if you own a car once again the Council and Goverment are hiting the less able so much for our green Council
Fine if you own a car once again the Council and Goverment are hiting the less able so much for our green Council Terry Chivers

3:18pm Mon 3 Sep 12

Jonathan Knee says...

So the council introduce and/or increase car parking charges all over Wiltshire - against the advice of the businesses and majority of people in the county. The council made clear that this move was to protect the subsidised busses in Wiltshire! We now have empty car parks which have led to very low footfall in our towns and now A REDUCED BUS SURVICE ANYWAY! What a shambles. I dread to think how much the disastrous decision with regards to car parking charges continues to cost us all. I beg Wiltshire Council to open up our towns and villages car parking spaces to the public again please with little or no charges!
So the council introduce and/or increase car parking charges all over Wiltshire - against the advice of the businesses and majority of people in the county. The council made clear that this move was to protect the subsidised busses in Wiltshire! We now have empty car parks which have led to very low footfall in our towns and now A REDUCED BUS SURVICE ANYWAY! What a shambles. I dread to think how much the disastrous decision with regards to car parking charges continues to cost us all. I beg Wiltshire Council to open up our towns and villages car parking spaces to the public again please with little or no charges! Jonathan Knee

8:24pm Tue 4 Sep 12

AMVanquish007 says...

In response to the above you just cannot keep on ramming green policies down the throats of people in a rural constituency such as ours any longer. In the end it will backfire. We all know how to recycle and how to turn the electricity and gas off so that we will eventually freeze to death. Increased parking charges have turned people away from the shops in West Wiltshire. Now to save money because of the extortionate petrol and diesel prices imposed on us by governments intent on stiffing us with punitive taxes on thus vital product we now see bus services being reduced.
and because there is nothing in Trowbridge in terms of entertainment until at least the end of next year this can only mean one thing - more use of the car. It doesn't help by siting a cinema in the wrong place in town either where car parking will be a major problem.One can only hope that the planning inspectorate will see sense and pass the Innox Riverside development where it's proximity to the railway, ample car parking and much larger and vastly better 8 plex cinema will contribute to restoring bus services that will in turn make this short sighted council of ours think again
In response to the above you just cannot keep on ramming green policies down the throats of people in a rural constituency such as ours any longer. In the end it will backfire. We all know how to recycle and how to turn the electricity and gas off so that we will eventually freeze to death. Increased parking charges have turned people away from the shops in West Wiltshire. Now to save money because of the extortionate petrol and diesel prices imposed on us by governments intent on stiffing us with punitive taxes on thus vital product we now see bus services being reduced. and because there is nothing in Trowbridge in terms of entertainment until at least the end of next year this can only mean one thing - more use of the car. It doesn't help by siting a cinema in the wrong place in town either where car parking will be a major problem.One can only hope that the planning inspectorate will see sense and pass the Innox Riverside development where it's proximity to the railway, ample car parking and much larger and vastly better 8 plex cinema will contribute to restoring bus services that will in turn make this short sighted council of ours think again AMVanquish007

10:42pm Tue 11 Sep 12

harrietlg says...

he only hopes we can find alternatives, i've lost a days work because I can't get home on a sunday night now, I had to pay a weeks bus fair for me on sunday to get a taxi home! there was no advertisement of this stopping at the bus station at all, if they stop the weekly night bus then a lot of people are going to have to quit their jobs.
he only hopes we can find alternatives, i've lost a days work because I can't get home on a sunday night now, I had to pay a weeks bus fair for me on sunday to get a taxi home! there was no advertisement of this stopping at the bus station at all, if they stop the weekly night bus then a lot of people are going to have to quit their jobs. harrietlg

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