First Bus South confirms closure of Bridgwater Depot
- Buses of Somerset (First Bus South) confirm its bus depot in Bridgwater will close with effect from 3 September 2023.
- Buses of Somerset remains committed to its future in Somerset and its operations will continue to be run from neighbouring depots.
- From 3 September, there will be some changes to services across Buses of Somerset network, including improvements to frequencies on selected routes.
Buses of Somerset operator, First Bus South, has confirmed upcoming changes to its Somerset business including going ahead with the planned closure of its Bridgwater bus depot, effective from 3 September.
First Bus South remain fully committed to its future in Somerset and providing bus services for local people and the difficult decision to close the Bridgwater depot will help reduce costs and reset the business to protect its wider Somerset bus network.
From September 3, all services previously run from Bridgwater will operate from its other depots across Somerset.
The vast majority of services will be retained and simply operate from a new base with little to no effect on the passengers.
Some key routes will also see peak time improvements as a result of the changes as well as improved reliability.
Simon Goff, Managing Director for First Bus South said:
“Following further consultations and discussion with local stakeholders and customers alike, we are making some operational changes to our business. We have taken the difficult decision to close our Bridgwater depot with immediate effect from this weekend.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but one that is a necessity in order to protect the future of Buses of Somerset and its bus network for the local area. I am aware that there has been some local resistance to the depot closure, but it is important that our decision is taken in the wider context of striving to secure the long-term future of services across Somerset.
“We are operating in extremely challenging circumstances, with rising costs, and while passenger numbers are increasing on some routes due to current fare promotion schemes, they are still below pre-covid levels, which is affecting the viability of routes.
“We are committed to serving our communities in Somerset and continue to work closely through the enhanced partnership with Somerset Council to deliver the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) to provide the best possible bus services for our customers in the county. We will continue to work closely with the Council who have been a great help in supporting us to give the bus network the best possible chance to recover.
“We will continue to use data to inform our decision making to allow us to match services with demand. I hope that the passion shown recently by local interested parties around this decision can now translate into support for the local bus network through regular usage.
"As a responsible bus operator, we see our role is to provide a reliable network where people need us most. We believe that reliability, coupled with the current low fares, will help drive passenger growth which is required for the network to be sustainable for the long term."
As a result of the closure, there will be some changes to timetables from 3 September. Details of these changes are available on the Buses of Somerset website and First Bus app.
For more information click here: Planned changes | First Bus
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Notes to editors
NOTES TO EDITORS
Changes to bus services in Somerset from 3rd September 2023
Services 1 & 1e Taunton – Priorswood
Some journeys will be withdrawn after 1600 on Mondays to Fridays and before 0900 and after 1530 on Saturdays to reflect the number of passengers using these services.
Services 6 & 7 Taunton Town Services
Some journeys will be withdrawn before 0900 on Saturdays to reflect the number of passengers using these services.
Services 14 & 15 Bridgwater – Cannington – Minehead
Minor Changes to the timetable will be made with buses on service 14 running slightly earlier during the day.
Services 21 & 21a Taunton – Bridgwater – Burnham on Sea
A revised timetable will be introduced. On Saturdays the frequency will be every 36-45 minutes to reflect lower passenger use.
Services 22, 22a & X22 Taunton – Wellington – Tiverton
A revised timetable will be introduced. This will include extra journeys on service X22 to Tiverton.
Service 28 Taunton – Minehead
A new Sunday timetable will be introduced to improve punctuality.
Service 29 Taunton – Wells
Minor timetable changes
Service 51 Yeovil Town Service
A new timetable will be introduced with buses running every 45 minutes before 0900 Mondays to Fridays and all-day Saturdays. This change reflects the number of passengers using the service.
Service 54 Taunton – Yeovil
Departures from Taunton will leave 5 minutes earlier to improve punctuality. Departures from Yeovil will arrive Taunton 5 minutes later.
Service 58 & 58a Yeovil – Wincanton
The 1830 departure from Yeovil will operate at 1845.
Service 75 Bridgwater – Wells
Some changes will be made to the timetable with some early morning journeys withdrawn.
Service 99
The 1450 Taunton – Chard journey will be retimed to 1500. The 1550 Chard to Taunton journey will be retimed to 1600.
Services 623 & 625 Wellington – Taunton – Bridgwater College
Minor Changes to the timetable.
Service B1 Bridgwater Town Service
On Saturdays after 1435 journeys will be withdrawn.
About First Bus
First Bus is one of the UK’s largest bus operators, with a fleet of c.4,500 buses carrying over a million passengers a day. We serve two-thirds of the UK’s 15 largest conurbations, including major urban areas such as Portsmouth, Bristol and Glasgow, with a fifth of the market outside London.
Making journeys easier for our customers, we were the first national bus operator to accept contactless card payments across all of our services and our First Bus app is voted ‘best in class’ amongst UK bus operators.
Our most recent investments are in new, state-of-the-art buses across our key networks. We work proactively with our local authority partners, making a positive impact on air quality, tackling congestion and improving customer experience.
We are focused on First Bus becoming a leader in the transition to a low-carbon future and are committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035.