EVENING and late night bus services are set to return between Wellington and Taunton after Somerset County Council announced it planned to subsidise the journeys.
Wellington Town Council previously looked at subsidising a late-night service between the towns but found it too expensive.
Currently, the last bus back to Wellington leaves Taunton at 8pm on week days, with the final bus departing Wellington High Street at 8.45pm.
Wellington Mayor Cllr Mark Lithgow said the proposed changes were a welcome initiative for people who needed to attend evening activities in Taunton but were currently unable to use public transport to do so.
Cllr Lithgow said: “We are under-served by public transport in Wellington and this is a step in the right direction and hopefully will become a permanent night service for us.”
From the New Year, the county hopes to be able to introduce a timetable where the last bus from Taunton to Wellington leaves at 11.05pm.
The changes would also see Cotford St Luke served by later Taunton to Minehead buses with the last ones leaving Taunton at 10.30pm and departing Minehead at 10.15pm.
The proposed evening routes still have to be formally approved by the council, which has been working with Somerset Bus Partnership on a ‘Bus It’ campaign to support improvements and encourage more people to use buses.
However, a council spokesman said it was hoped evening buses would help boost the night-time economies in Taunton and other towns, as well as supporting people who worked outside of 9-5 hours or needed to attend training and education courses.
The council’s transport and digital portfolio holder Cllr Mike Rigby said: “Evening buses are a vital part of our plans if we’re going to get more people using services. They will help improve the night-time economy but they also mean people have more options if they do not have access to a car or want to leave their car at home.
“At the moment our public transport system cannot compare to what is available in big urban areas – the services just are not there, but we want to change that.
“This is an important major step towards giving people in Somerset better public transport options during the evening.”