Somerset County Council is urging people to get on the buses - in order to keep the routes viable.

Following the government’s withdrawal of the Bus Recovery Grant, bus operators are weighing up the viability of routes in Somerset.

Somerset’s bus services are the worst rated in all of England, according to the Somerset Bus Partnership, which works with all political parties to promote the use and improvement of public transport. The partnership has joined with SCC for this new campaign called ‘Bus It’, aimed at encouraging people to use the bus more.

Bus use in Somerset is still only at 70 per cent of levels seen pre-pandemic, with support from bus pass holders also lower.

The council’s executive lead member for transport, Cllr Mike Rigby, Mike Rigby, said: “We need to make sure more people are using the bus to try and protect routes.“The best way to do this is to use it and there are lots of compelling reasons why now more than ever it is a great alternative.

“Now’s the time to look at what you could be saving. By catching the bus, you can make a demonstrable difference to our environment and can save money and wear and tear on your car.”

We asked Wellington Weekly readers what they thought of the local bus service, and whether they could be persuaded to get ‘on the buses’ more often. Out of 23 people that we asked, 21 said they were unhappy with the local bus service in Wellington.

Wellington resident Nick Carswell said: “They’re unviable because people don’t trust them and find them uninviting, expensive and unreliable.

“There’s no direct bus service from Wellington to Taunton train station. There isn’t even a proper bus station in Taunton anymore.

“It will be impossible to tempt people to use public transport unless the services are improved hugely. Bus companies rely too much on council subsidies and not enough on creating an inviting service that people will want to use.

“I also think the weak bus offering is in part down to the management of the service. It seems that reliability of the local First Group buses is also a big issue.”

((Wiki Common DHS Transport credited) )

Cost was cited as a big issue for passengers, and as the cost of living crisis continues, many may be looking for alternate methods of transport to running a car. However, bus fares are also rising. Some routes in Somerset cost a fifth more than last year. A return ticket from Rockwell Green to Wellington town centre now costs £4.80 - that is a trip of 1.3 miles.

Some locals argued that if the bus services were made more reliable and affordable people would use them without having to be told. Lesley Power, a Wellington resident, said: “The bus services in Wellington have been unreliable since long before Covid hit. I have waited for over an hour for a bus before as two timetabled buses have not turned up.

“If you cannot rely on buses to turn up, you cannot use them to go into Taunton for appointments.

“I also feel the fare is far too expensive, and the buses stop around 8pm meaning people working late shifts have no choice but to drive.

“They have done absolutely nothing to encourage people to use bus services and it would need to improve a lot before I used the bus again.”

Nearly half of carbon emissions in the county are caused by private transport, so climate benefits are being hailed as one reason to ‘bus it’. But Mandy Foster, a Wellington local, said: “I don’t use the buses, but if they want to cut carbon footprint as much as they say, then they need to encourage people like myself to leave the car at home.

“They need to make the prices more realistic; the buses need to actually turn up and also later buses need to be available!”

Reliability and comfort were both raised as issues. Philip Winks lives in Wellington and said he thinks the fleet is a ‘appalling’. He said: “Look at the appalling fleet First give to the local depot. It looks to me like First want to lose this depot.”

Clare Billings lives in Nynehead and frequently has issues with the buses. She finds it easier and cheaper to drive into Taunton to pick up her daughter from college. She said:“My daughter frequently tries to come home from college in Taunton on the bus.

“Too often it doesn’t turn up or disappears off the tracker she has on the First Bus app.

“The bus also does not come to Nynehead so, by the time I’ve factored in unreliability, cost and inconvenience, I may as well drive the 15 minutes to collect her.”

MP Rebecca Pow also campaigned to keep bus routes open. (Tindle news)

Sue Morell of Wellington blamed a lack of competition, saying: “I think the main problem is the prices. Years ago, there used to be other companies such as Webbers who ran a reliable and cheap service and when First had competition it meant they had to keep their prices lower. Now First have the monopoly. At the weekends or when I have a car it is much cheaper to drive and if First want us to keep the buses running then they need to reduce their prices.”

Some people believed that privatisation doesn’t work and public ownership would ensure that these vital rural routes are run properly. Dennis Croughton said: “Looking at Spain as a comparison. As I understand it the Government has decided that all local transport services, train, bus and trams, are to be free. Germany has introduced a low cost ticket for such journeys. Our local transport, especially for the villages, should be a thought of as a public good and treated as such.”

Jo Malonie said: “The buses are a ‘service’ which means decisions to run or to not run a bus route should not be decided on whether it is ‘profitable’ or ‘viable’ to do so.

“It is a ‘service’ to the community and should be treated as such. They’re not looking after our youngsters or our elderly population who don’t want to or can’t drive.”

A spokesperson for Buses of Somerset said: “As a condition of transitional funding arrangements, bus operators must undertake full network reviews to assess the viability of all routes once funding ends in the autumn.

“This review was carried out in Somerset in May in consultation with the county council. Like all other bus operators in the UK, we must adapt our networks to match the post-pandemic demand for services.

“The majority of our network has been retained. We have matched our resources with demand for services in order to provide our customers with the most reliable network.

“We are committed to constructive partnerships and have been working with local authorities to provide as much notice as possible of any changes to allow them to support alternative arrangements.

“As we all know, Covid has taken its toll on bus services nationwide. We want to encourage people to use the bus as much and as regularly as possible, and the network changes announced in June were to build resilience into the remaining network to make it more reliable and provide best possible services levels for passengers where flows are busiest in the areas that we serve.  

“The increases in fuel costs are felt by everyone, and with the cost-of-living rises on top, every penny matters. We want to encourage everyone to use the bus more, - after all the bus is still one of the most economical ways to travel, there are no parking hassles, and it is free for those with concessionary passes.”