OWNER of Faresaver Buses John Pickford has urged residents in Trowbridge to make the most of the trial period replacement for the T1 bus to ensure buses continue to run beyond the end of August. 

Following discussions with Wiltshire Council, Faresaver stepped in to provide an alternative service as a commercial venture to replace the T1 bus service in Trowbridge from Monday (Aug 3).

The former T1 bus route stopped running on Sunday, after First West of England decided it was no longer commercially viable to run the service, leaving people in the Studley Green, Wiltshire Drive and College estate area with no bus service to town.

Although the council submitted a tender for a replacement to the T1, the only tender that was received was vetoed by Wiltshire Councillors due to it being considered unaffordable.

John Pickford, owner of Faresaver Buses, said: “We decided not to tender for the service due to the nature of the proposed timetable. However, when no contract was awarded we decided to produce a timetable that we considered to be a suitable alternative, and possibly financially viable.

“At this time there appeared to be no reaction from local residents regarding the loss of their bus service to town, but we registered ‘our’ timetable with The Traffic Commissioner for a trial period of the month of August, to ascertain the usage and viability of an hourly operation to replace what had been a half hourly service which was losing money.

“We were aware that we could not expect any financial help from Wiltshire Council, but Highways employee’s Philip Groocock and Simon White were helpful in fine tuning our timetable, to avoid congestion at Trowbridge Town hall, and produced leaflets to distribute to the public to make them aware of the new service.

“We are hopeful that the trial period will prove successful and the buses will continue to run beyond the end of August. We would urge the people of Trowbridge to use the service as much as possible to achieve this, and are always pleased to talk to people and listen to their suggestions.”

Faresaver will now provide buses through Hilperton with the X34 service, which will run twice an hour on weekdays and once an hour on Saturdays.

Buses from Trowbridge town centre to Studley Green, College Road, Silver Street Lane, Wiltshire Drive, Holbrook Lane and Dursley Road will now be provided by a new service 60 – running once an hour and following the existing T1 route.

Wiltshire and Trowbridge Councillor Jeff Osborn said: “If the numbers using the service are good and it is profitable; it will continue and maybe extended, so the key message is clear. Please use the 60 or we will lose it.

"We must now all ensure that sufficient people use it, in order to guarantee that it becomes permanent.”