Changes to bus services in Taunton

Simon Ford, regional network manager for the bus company in the South-West, said it was in response to the shifting needs of customers such as “capacity problems”.

He added: “These service alterations are part of our on-going efforts to develop Somerset’s bus network and improve its reliability and punctuality.

“With the changes to the Service 3/3A in Taunton, we have improved connections to important community hubs such as Musgrove Park Hospital and Somerset College, adding another two buses an hour between them and Taunton Railway Station.

“We’ve also made changes to Service 54 (Taunton to Yeovil) to allow more regular intervals between buses that run on the stretch of road from Somerton to Yeovil, where its route overlaps with the Service 377 (Wells-Yeovil).

“As we seek to match our resources against the level of demand for our services some routes have been changed, while others have had the number or frequency of buses increased, a few have also been redesigned and revised.

“We would advise all our customers to check the new timetables carefully before travelling.”

CHANGES TO BUS SERVICES IN TAUNTON: *Service 1/1A (Taunton Town Service): Monday to Saturday, the last two buses leaving Wellspings Road will do so four minutes later than at present. To standardise the timetable and in response to low passenger demand the service will no longer stop at Horner Road or Lyngford Road, customers are instead advised to view the Service 3/3A timetable which stops at Lyngford Road and nearby Priorswood Road. *Taunton Service 2 (Taunton Town Service): Service 2, has suffered from punctuality issues and customers are advised that it will be withdrawn in favour of a redesigned Service 3 and a new Service 3A, whose routes are being partially altered to replace the majority of the Service 2 route. Customers should view the new Service 3/3A timetables for details of these new travel options. *Taunton Service 3/3A (Taunton Town Service): Following a review of Services 2 and 3, Service 3 will be altered and joined by a new Service 3A. Between them the Services 3 and 3A will provide passengers with two additional buses per hour between Taunton Railway Station and Taunton Parade, as well as Somerset College and Musgrove Park Hospital. Combined with the Service 4, this will provide five buses an hour between Taunton Parade and Musgrove Park Hospital. They will run as follows: *Service 3 The route between Bishops Hull and Taunton Parade is essentially unchanged, however the section between Taunton Parade and Priorswood, is being amended to partially replace some of the lost Service 2 route. Services 3 and 3A will run along Priorswood Road, Lyngford Road and Victory Road on the outbound journey. Service 3 will return by Selworthy Road, Bircham Road, Fairfield Road, Horner Road, Lyngford Road and Priorswood Road, whereas Service 3A will return from Priorswood Shops by way of Victory Road, Lyngford Road and Priorswood Road. *Service 3A The service will operate every 30 minutes Monday to Friday daytime and every 60 minutes on Saturdays between Musgrove Park Hospital and Nerrols Farm, calling at Taunton Parade and Taunton Railway Station. The current Service 3 route between Taunton Parade and Nerrols Farm will effectively be taken over by and incorporated into the Service 3A’s route. *Priorswood, Lyngford and Taunton Railway Station will now have a direct link to Musgrove Park Hospital, and additional buses from these areas will also be running to Somerset College. Altogether, Services 1, 1A, 3 and 3A, offer a 7/8 minute frequency from Taunton Parade and Taunton Railway Station to Priorswood Shops. *Service 25/25A (Taunton – Langley Marsh / Cotford St. Luke / Dulverton): To address capacity issues, the bus that leaves from Somerset College in Taunton at 1710 will now depart at 1715 and then from the Bus Station at 1730. This applies to the Monday to Friday college term time bus only. Similarly, the journey from Taunton Bus Station to Dulverton at 1720 on non-college week days is being re-timed to depart at 1730. The 1850 journey from Dulverton to Taunton Bus Station will also depart later at 1900, but only on weekdays. *Service 29 (Taunton – Wells): Following requests from passengers in Brittons Ash, buses travelling between Taunton Railway Station and East Lyng on Service 29 will now travel via Brittons Ash rather than Monkton Heathfield, providing a direct link to Wells Bus station and Taunton Railway Station. This service will run every 90 minutes Monday to Saturday. *To improve punctuality Service 29 will no longer operate directly within the grounds of West Mendip Hospital but instead use the bus stops outside on the main road, just a couple of minutes’ walk away. *Service 30 (Taunton – Axminster):After requests from local residents, buses in Ilminster going from Taunton to Axminster will now operate via Station Road, West Street, High Street, North Street and Ditton Street, rather than Canal Way and Orchard Vale. Buses travelling in the opposite direction, from Axminster to Taunton, are not affected and will remain as they are. *Service 54 (Taunton – Yeovil): Demand for a more even spread of departures on this route means that Service 54 will be changing from 4 November, to leave Taunton 20 minutes earlier at XX20 and depart Yeovil 10 minutes earlier at XX00. These changes mean that one journey in each direction will be removed from the timetable. Customers are advised to check the new timetable carefully before travelling. *Service 92 (Taunton – Tiverton):In order to improve reliability and to avoid buses passing along a narrow section of route, most departures from Tiverton Bus Station will be re-timed to depart five minutes later at XX20 past the hour Monday to Saturday daytime. Customers are advised to check the new timetable carefully before travelling.