Latest News
April 2025 Service Changes
Significant improvement in Bus Services in Somerset
Somerset's bus services will see the most significant bus service improvements in years as a result of a doubling of bus funding in Somerset by central Government.
Evening and Sunday bus services on some key routes, along with new bus services, are set to be introduced as part of a major shake-up aimed at increasing bus use.
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​The enhanced bus services are part of Somerset’s Government-funded Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).
Somerset also has new electric buses achieved through a collaboration between First Bus in Somerset and Somerset Council. The partnership was awarded £2.2m from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA 2) scheme and First Bus invested £12.5m in vehicles and electrifying the bus depot at Taunton.
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Yeovil
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Extending the 376 service from Bristol to Street to Yeovil – to include evenings and Sundays.
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Sunday service for 51 Yeovil Town
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Service CR6 (Bridport to Yeovil) extra later return journey.
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A review of the town centre network, repurposing service 11 to remove some duplication and provide a service to areas of Yeovil currently not served.
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NEW 50 and 53 Yeovil Town Services run by South West Coaches
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Continued Council support for Services 1, 54, 58, 68 and 81 which provide links from Yeovil to Shepton Mallet, Taunton, Wincanton, Yeovil rail stations and South Petherton.
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Bus Priority Signal Improvements.
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Bridgwater
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Evening service for 21 Taunton to Bridgwater service – extended to Burnham-on-Sea.
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Increased daytime frequency for the B1Bridgwater Town Service, plus Sunday service.
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Roll out of Digital Demand Responsive Transport to the existing Sedgemoor Slinky.
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Support for service 14 – Bridgwater to Cannington.
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Improved access for buses at Bridgwater Train Station.
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Electric buses on the 21 Taunton - Burnham-on-Sea service
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Bus Priority Signal Improvements.
Taunton
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Continued support for evening services, 1E, 21, 22, 28 and 30 serving Bridgwater, Wellington, Minehead and Chard.
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Continued support for service 3 (Bishops Hull – Taunton) and re-routing part of the service to provide an improved transport links in the South Road/Shoreditch Road/Chestnut Drive area of Taunton.
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Electic buses on Buses of Somerset all town centre buses in Taunton (the 1, 4, 6, 7 services) plus routes 21, 22 and 28 will also operate with EV vehicles.
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£1 single fare for park and ride.
Roll out of Digital Demand Responsive Transport to the existing Taunton and Wellington Slinky Service. -
Support for Comeytrowe Transport Hub.
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As well as the ongoing work on Taunton’s Transport hub on the site of the former bus station, and a pilot rural transport hub in Langport, there will be feasibility studies for transport hubs in Yeovil and Bridgwater.
Other
Elsewhere there will be continued support for
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The Frome Town service 30, which will also see the introduction of an Electric Vehicle;
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The D2 Frome to Bath service.
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The 126 Axbridge-Wells service, with an increased service on Saturdays.
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Improved service 25 Dulverton to Taunton; Service 26 Dulverton to Wiveliscombe and a trial of Service 27 Wiveliscombe to Wellington and West Buckland (2 days a week).
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Somerset Council have worked with South West Coaches and GWR to ensure the South West Coaches service can access Castle Cary train station rather than dropping off on the main road.
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668 - Extension of service to Avalon Marshes for 12 months. (Funding obtained for this service by Somerset Bus Partnership, Glastonbury on the Bus and other local partners.)
Full April 2025 Changes
6TH APRIL - FIRST WEST OF ENGLAND
The next bus timetable changes First West of England take place on Sunday 6th April.
The main changes for Somerset are:
• 20 (Burnham-On-Sea - Weston-Super-Mare) - This service will have its usual summer season uplift, with the Monday – Saturday frequency increased from every 70 minutes to every 35 minutes. The Sunday service will also resume, operating hourly between 0900 and 1800.
• 174 - Has had its Sunday and Public Holiday (via Chilcompton) route diverted slightly in Midsomer Norton to serve the new The Hollies bus stop (this change started as a diversion in late-February). Monday-Saturday journeys already served The Hollies. The Monday - Friday 13:22 trip from Wells will now depart at 13:17 to provide a combined 15 minute frequency.
Easy readable 376 bus timetable
• D2x - Will operate from Frome Sainsbury’s via The Butts, Frome Market Place, Fromefield, and then then A361, A36 & B3110. It will not serve Critchill, Brunel Way, Beckington or Rode. From Bath, upon reaching Sainsbury’s, buses will change from a D2 to a D2x and vice versa, meaning that passengers can use either service for Critchill. New timetable will operate.
• D2 - Will no longer serve Frome Railway Station with all journeys running to and from Frome Sainsbury’s via Critchill. New timetable will operate.
Other First West of England routes will not be changing timetables, please continue to refer to the current timetables.
Find out more: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/bristol-bath-and-west/news-and-service-updates/updates/service-changes-west-england-6-april-2025
6TH APRIL - HATCH GREEN COACHES
The 99 will be operated by Hatch Green Coaches with no change to the timetable: https://www.hatchgreencoaches.co.uk/pdfs/2025/feb/99-new.pdf
16 - Route and timetable change
23/23B - Timetable change
20TH APRIL - BUSES OF SOMERSET
1 Taunton - Pyrland & Priorswood: Routes 1 and 2 will merge into one, serving both housing estates with electric vehicles (EVs) at a frequency of every 30 minutes.
1E Silk Mills Park and Ride – Musgrove Park Hospital - Taunton – Pyrland: Now operating every 60 minutes with electric vehicless.
2 Taunton - Priorswood: This service is being removed, with the area now served by the new unified 1 Service.
4 Taunton – Wheatley Crescent & Lane Estate: Minor timetable adjustments will be made; the route will operate with electric vehicles.
6 Taunton – South Road, Juniper Road, Normandy Drive & Wordsworth Drive: Frequency reduced to every 60 minutes, now operating with electic Vehicles.
7 Taunton - Galmington: Underused railway station stop removed. This route will also operate with EVs.
21/21A Taunton – Burnham-on-Sea via Bridgwater: New timetable improves reliability with a frequency of every 35 minutes, 21 service extended to Burnham on Sea until 23:30 Monday to Saturday. Now operating with EVs
22/22A/22B/X22/22C Taunton - Rockwell Green, Wellington, Tonedale and Tiverton: A new timetable has been implemented for improved reliability and EV operations. The 22B service to Jurston Fields has been removed due to low usage. All remaining 22 patterns will serve Orchard Grove Housing Estate. The 22C will replace a previous X22 trip and continue to serve Cullompton.
25/25A Dulverton-Taunton, Taunton - Wiveliscombe, Taunton – Norton Fitzwarren & Cotford St Luke: The route is split into two services, with the 25 serving Dulverton during peak times and the new 25A replacing the daytime 28A service. Somerset Council's inhouse fleet is operating a Wivliscombe to Dulverton 26 service. There will be a through ticket in operation for stops between Wiviliscombe and Dulverton.
28/28A/X28 Taunton – Minehead via Bishops Lydeard: The X28 express service is removed, with remaining services enhanced to every 40 minutes on weekdays. The 28A will serve Norton and Cotford St Luke in the evenings and on Sundays.
30 Taunton – Axminster: Minor timetable changes will be made.
99 Taunton - Chard: First Bus no longer operates this route; it will be taken over by another provider.
B1 Bridgwater Estates: Additional services will run from 07:00 to 19:00, approximately every 35-40 minutes during peak hours, with new Sunday services added.
14 Bridgwater – Cannington: Minor timetable revisions.
15 Minehead - Bridgwater College: Minor timetable revisions.
54 Yeovil – Taunton: Minor timetable revisions.
58/58A Yeovil – Wincanton: The underused 58A service will be discontinued, and the 58 timetable will be revised.
51 Yeovil Town: Minor timetable adjustments will be made, with a new Sunday service added.
Exmoor Coaaster will restart - no further information is available.
Note: Timetable details for the Exmoor Coaster and CR4 Yeovil – Blandford, will be announced shortly
Find out more: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/somerset/news-and-service-updates/updates/summer-network-changeeffective-april-20th-2025
20TH APRIL - SOMERSET COUNCIL RUN BUS SERVICE
3 Chestnut Drive to Bishop Hull - route and timetable change
26 - NEW SERVICE - Wiverliscombe - Dulverton
27 - NEW SERVICE - Wiverliscombe - Wellington - West Buckland
20TH APRIL - SOUTH WEST COACHES
The service 11 in Yeovil will be replaced with service 50 and 53.
50 - NEW SERVICE - Yeovil Town Service
53 - NEW SERVICE - Yeovil Town Service
Timetables will be available on the South West Coaches website: https://www.southwestcoaches.co.uk/Bus-Timetables
South West Coaches service 1 will serve Castle Cary station itself, rather than stopping on the main road opposite, thanks to improvements made to allow the buses to turn around.
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22 APRIL - LIBRA TRAVEL
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668 - Extension of service to Avalon Marshes Nature Reserve for 12 months.
Somerset Bus Partnership in Coach & Bus Week
Interesting to see the Somerset Bus Partnership £2 decal featured in the current issue of Coach&BusWeek’s review of the £2 fare. Read the full article: https://cbwmagazine.com/fare-cap-a-predictable-outcome/
Council Bus Consultation: Share your views on proposed changes to travel assistance for students over 16
Share your thoughts on proposed changes to travel assistance for SEND learners as part of Somerset Council's Post-16 Local Transport Policy before Sunday 30 March 2025.
Read the full details of the consultation here.
Campaign for a new bus service between Wiveliscombe and Wellington
With the support of Somerset `Bus Partnership, Wellington and Wiveliscombe Bus User Groups have been campaigning for the restoration of a bus route between the two towns.
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A petition was launched in October 2023 that has gathered more than 1,300 signatures online and on paper.
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The two Bus User Groups say the route, which was cut ten years ago and which also served the villages of Milverton and Langford Budville, has been very much missed by many people across all these communities.
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Wellington offers shopping and health and sports facilities, while Wiveliscombe has the attraction of fine pubs, local walks, and a regular Saturday market. A bus service would also provide residents in both towns with access to work opportunities as well
as social contact with friends and families.
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Also the potential of a future railway station in Wellington is a further reason for improved access to the town from Wiveliscombe and nearby villages, as well as offering bus links to onward travel to Taunton and further afield to Bristol, London, and Plymouth by coach from Wellington.
Sign the petition for a Wiveliscombe to Wellington bus service: https://www.change.org/p/restore-the-bus-service-between-wiveliscombe-and-wellington-in-somerset
Read more about our campaigns
First Bus to run Electric buses from their Taunton and Minehead bus depots in 2025
First Bus will introduce Electric buses based at their Taunton and Minehead bus depots in 2025
First Bus South, operator of Buses of Somerset, has started construction works to electrify its Taunton & Minehead depots
The electric depots will support 26 brand new electric buses
Electric buses and electrified depots were a joint initiative between Somerset Council and Buses of Somerset.
Work is currently underway to electrify its Taunton and Minehead depots, ready for the operation of 26 brand new electric buses from late Spring 2025.
The works will create electric vehicle charging infrastructure as well as upgrading the bus depots in Taunton and Minehead.
Once complete, the electric ready depots will enable a fleet of 26 double and single decker electric buses to run across First South’s routes out of Taunton, bringing cleaner, greener travel for local people.
The £14.7m project to bring EV (Electric Vehicle) buses to Somerset will be delivered in partnership with Somerset Council. Working together, an investment of £2.2m that was secured for Somerset Council from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) 2 funding, alongside a significant capital investment by First South of £12.5m.
The introduction of the state-of-the-art electric buses by First Bus will be a first for bus travel in the Somerset Council area and will help lead the way in reducing emissions and improving air quality. The electric buses will replace part of Buses of Somerset’s diesel fleet and overall, it is expected that each electric bus will save up to 75 tonnes of tailpipe emissions per year.
The electric buses will provide smoother, quieter bus journeys for passengers and will run on routes including:
Route 28: Taunton to Minehead
Route 21: Taunton to Bridgwater
Route 22: Taunton to Wellington
Route 1: Taunton Town Service
Route 2: Taunton Town Service
In support of the Taunton and Minehead projects, representatives from Somerset Council including Councillor Richard Wilkins, Lead member for Transport and Waste Services, and Somerset Bus Partnership visited the Buses of Somerset Taunton depot to mark the start of works. The group were able to meet the Bus of Somerset depot team and see plans for the transformation of the depot.
​(From L-R) Simon Goff, First South Managing Director; Councillor Richard Wilkins, Somerset Council; Gary Weaver, First South Engineering Director, Linda Snelling, Somerset Bus Partnership; Pete McNaughton, Buses of Somerset Operations Manager; Peter Travis, Somerset Bus Partnership
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Transport Select Committee: Buses Connecting Communities - Somerset Bus Partnership's Response
The Department of Transport recently put out a call for evidence on Buses Connecting Communities.
Somerset Bus Partnership submitted a response which can be read here.
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Taunton Bus User Group's response can be read here.
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Somerset Council's response can be read here.
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Peninsular Transport's response can be read here.
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First Bus' (Group) response can be read here​.
We Need Your Help! ...Can You Help Us?
Somerset Bus Partnership has been campaigning to improve Somerset's bus services for four years. Last year we organised over 100 events in towns across Somerset. We are probably the most active Bus User Group in the country.
However, we now need money to help fund our next campaigns and produce marketing materials.
Unless we work together to increase bus usage, we face potentially more bus cuts in the future especially as Somerset Council doesn't have any extra money to fund our buses.
You can donate via PayPal or contact us for if you would like more details to make a direct bank transfer.
Petition
Somerset’s buses are vulnerable because Somerset Council has spends far less on supporting buses than do neighbouring rural councils.
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In 2022, two thirds of elected Somerset councillors from within all the political parties made a commitment to increase the Council’s spending on buses.
This petition asks them to do what they deliver on that commitment they made to the electorate and spend more money to support Somerset bus services.
We invite you to support it.
We the undersigned call on Somerset Council to fund buses to the same level as similar rural councils in the South West and to do this by 2026
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New Bus User Group in Shepton Mallet
Somerset Bus Partnership has now help create 13 bus user groups across Somerset. For more information about bus user groups in Somerset read here.
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We have recently launched the Shepton Mallet Bus User Group. To find out more information about the group visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sheptonmalletbususersgroup
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