Bus boost for passengers
9:23am Tuesday 22nd January 2013 in Latest News
Faresaver’s general manager Daniel Pickford at the firm’s Bumpers Farm depot
Buses between Chippenham and Trowbridge are now running twice as frequently.
Bus operator Faresaver has doubled the number of buses each day to cope with a surging demand for the popular route.
The number of students and children using it had quadrupled in the past two years and adult passengers had increased by 40 per cent in this time.
Now, instead of every hour, one bus leaves Chippenham bus station at 20 past the hour and another at 10 to the hour for most of the day.
The new timetable came into force on Sunday for the X34 service between Chippenham and Frome in Somerset, which travels via Melk-sham and Trowbridge.
Faresaver general manager Daniel Pickford said: “These results are particularly pleasing when many semi-rural buses services are suffering as a result of government cutbacks, increased fuel costs and spiralling overheads.”
He said investment in more accessible buses with lower floors had attracted more elderly passengers.
The surge in student use followed the Kids for a Quid offer of the last year, which allows anyone carrying student ID to travel anywhere on the X34 route for £1.
Mr Pickford said: “I hope that the combination of the increased frequency of the buses, ongoing fleet enhancements and the hard work of the loyal team of Faresaver drivers will justify this latest move and further enhance bus usage in this part of north Wiltshire.”
Faresaver has been operating the route for more than 20 years. In other timetable changes, the company has allowed more running time has been allowed between Chippenham and Bath in a bid to improve the punctuality of the X31 service.
There is also an extra trip on the X72 between Devizes and Melksham – leaving Devizes at 5.05pm and arriving at 5.27pm.
Comments(12)
old 'arry
says...
12:46pm Tue 22 Jan 13
welshrichardo
says...
3:15pm Tue 22 Jan 13
Tanglefoot1 wrote:Not to mention passenger safety, most drivers don't wait for any passengers to sit down, never mind the elderly. Tight timetables/schedules is the main excuse.
I think that Faresaver "drivers"should read the highway code and learn all about road manners and speed limits.
trowbridge52
says...
5:08pm Tue 22 Jan 13
Tanglefoot1 wrote:some of the first bus drivers need too as well been on a first bus when it went through a red traffic light !
I think that Faresaver "drivers"should read the highway code and learn all about road manners and speed limits.
trowbridge52
says...
5:10pm Tue 22 Jan 13
welshrichardo wrote:as i said to the previous comment some of the first bus drivers do as well on the bus the other week the driver pulled away with such force a gentleman who had not had time to sit fell forward and whacked the lady next to me hurting her (not the gentlemans fault) but the driver saw but did nothing .
Tanglefoot1 wrote:Not to mention passenger safety, most drivers don't wait for any passengers to sit down, never mind the elderly. Tight timetables/schedules is the main excuse.
I think that Faresaver "drivers"should read the highway code and learn all about road manners and speed limits.
julie1964
says...
8:23am Wed 23 Jan 13
Mrs Donnyfly
says...
11:27pm Wed 23 Jan 13
julie1964 wrote:Why don't you take them to the Dr or shopping then?
Story on the web site about more Buses between Chippenham and Trowbridge , what about the villages they have theirs cut to some peolpe its their only way of getting to the Dr or shopping , Monkton farlegh has all ready had one bus cut to Bath so are now limited to only going to Bradford on Avon or Trowbridge and they can not go any where on a saturday at all now
julie1964
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8:36am Thu 24 Jan 13
Andrew Rolph
says...
3:52pm Fri 25 Jan 13
faresaver
says...
8:29pm Fri 25 Jan 13
beetawix
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2:02am Sun 27 Jan 13
Andrew Rolph
says...
6:08pm Tue 29 Jan 13
Tanglefoot1 says...
11:59am Tue 22 Jan 13