The High-Quality Buses of Somerset
24 April 2022
ABOVE: Buses of Somerset 44535 (SN62 DCY) shows off its smart livery at Bridgwater Bus Station after a trip on route 75 from Wells.
All pictures in this article taken on Tuesday 8th March 2022.
All pictures in this article taken on Tuesday 8th March 2022.
I’m having a day out on The Buses of Somerset, a rebranded FirstBus operation that has completely abandoned the traditional First colours and the First name, in favour of a smart two-tone green livery and a fleet of mid-life buses. First has a mixed reputation as regards the quality of its services; where will The Buses of Somerset sit on the spectrum?
I’m starting on the number 75 from Street to Bridgwater. Assuming that I can find my bus stop, that is. On the day of my visit, High Street, Street is closed for major roadworks. The 376 bus from Bristol has dropped me off at a stop called Glaston House, on the edge of the town. I have about an hour in hand, so time to explore. But where to catch the bus?
After a good old wander around looking for a bus stop on a road that is actually open, I have finally concluded that the best place to try is Glaston House, where I started. And sure enough, the 75 does pick up there.
I’m clearly not the only one who has been confused by the closure of High Street, Street. Several passengers have to ask the driver for help regarding pick-up points. Fortunately, she is very friendly and helpful, and she makes sure that everyone is clear on the temporary arrangements. Just as well, as these buses only run every two hours, so you wouldn’t want to miss one!
Street is quite a large town. Nice, tidy houses, and a Cider Farm, which seems wholly appropriate here!
It remains built-up as Street morphs into Walton. Residential and commercial properties stretch on, before a sudden right turn takes us into open country, and suddenly I can see for miles.
At Chilton Polden, we pass a 75 heading the other way. That probably represents the full allocation on this route!
The villages are coming thick and fast, and we often seem to turn away from Bridgwater at junctions. We call into Woolavington, which feels more like a town than a village (but isn’t).
There’s a very traditional style of bus stop here, but with modern enhancements including full departure time detail. The flag says “Both Directions”, and one usually only sees that when the stop over the road is ‘unmarked’. In this case, there is a shelter over there, which one assumes (even though it does not have a flag) is the stop.
Just beyond is some form of building development, which a web check suggests is a new commercial development site “with unique flexibility, enabling us to provide computation to suit various bases”. Pardon?
We make a quick double-run to the local hospital before we turn into the residential suburbs of Bridgwater. There have been around a dozen passengers on this E200, most of whom have been there all the way from Street (and maybe even further – the bus has come from Wells). This has been a nice run, and less rural than I expected.
From Bridgwater Bus Station, which is basically a dedicated row of bus stops outside an Asda store, I take a 21A to Taunton. The driver is leaving here, but allows intending passengers to board first, which is unusual outside London, but welcome.
This is an E300; 11 metres plus, I would say. There are additional luggage racks which suggest that the vehicle belongs on sister route 28 (Taunton to Minehead, Butlin’s). But the vehicle is branded for the 21 and, incidentally, it’s not in the green Buses of Somerset colours, but in a turquoise-based livery. It’s “from The Buses of Somerset“, whilst The Buses of Somerset is from First Group. Keeping up?
ABOVE: 67709, SN60 EAP, has just arrived into Taunton Town Centre on route 21A from Burnham-on-Sea
This is one of the most frequent services provided by this operator – every 30 minutes, albeit shared between the hourly 21 and 21A, with route variations along the way.
It is noticeable how many people travel right through to Taunton, although there is quite a lot of churn as well. This busy run is also notable for the very poor legroom in my seat.
It’s all residential and commercial again for the first half of the journey, but then we are suddenly into the countryside again and heading down the major A38 dual carriageway.
A detour into West Monkton, where we pick up a wheelchair user and a passenger with a mobility scooter, travelling together. The wheelchair user manoeuvres himself to a seat so that his chair can be folded up, thus making room for the scooter and its occupant.
We’re soon into Taunton: “The South West’s First Garden Town”, according to the Welcome sign. The bus station was closed a few years ago for redevelopment and buses now congregate in the town centre. Although that would normally go against the grain for me, it seems to work here as it’s a smallish town centre and the stops are all within sight of each other.
I have a lengthy wait before my next bus towards Yeovil. Route 54 runs every 90 minutes, and I have just seen one go – the needs of a cup of tea, a bite to eat and certain other comforts have prevented me from jumping on this double-decker.
ABOVE: What I could have travelled to Somerton on if I hadn’t needed the smallest room… 32753, WJ55 CSF is a Dennis Trident East Lancs Myllennium Lolyne. I see from bustimes.org that it was on the 54 again on 22nd April, so it may be a regular…
When my bus arrives, it is a single-decker, but is as bright, clean and tidy as all of the Buses of Somerset vehicles I have travelled / will travel on today. In fact, you would think it was a reasonably new vehicle to see its condition.
The only thing that gives away that it isn’t newish is the fact that it is a Dennis Dart, and they stopped making them about 15 years ago. There aren’t many of them around now. I haven’t personally travelled on one since my day out with Compass Bus six months before; and I wonder if this will be my last Dart (see below).
ABOVE: Dennis Dart 42950 (WX06 OMG), looking in good condition despite its age, arriving into Taunton from Yeovil. Apologies for the street furniture!
There are about 15 passengers on board as we leave Taunton. The bus runs really smoothly and has plenty of legroom. Like other buses I’ve seen from this company today, there are several NHS adverts telling how easy it is to treat Hepatitis-C. Is that a particular problem in this area?
At the wonderfully-named Curry Rivel we have the first churn of passengers since Taunton. A route like this will only need two buses, and soon after Curry Rivel I see the double-decker heading back to Taunton.
At Langport, a town rather than a village but with half the population of the village of Woolavington, I see ‘Eustace and Arthur’, which is apparently “Somerset’s tiniest department store”.
A man boards the bus here and touches his Senior Bus Pass in whilst telling someone on his phone that he is “just getting into [his] taxi”.
Then comes another of those wonderful village names – Huish Episcopi. Sounds a bit foreign to me.
I don’t quite have time to get to Yeovil, so I’m going to bail out at Somerton, where I should have just over half an hour in hand before taking the number 77 to Glastonbury. This is a bit of a gamble for me. I’m quite risk-averse but I’m stopping off somewhere that I have never been to before, that is only served by two low-frequency bus routes, and has no other way out if something goes wrong…
Somerton is a lovely spot. I wish I have a bit more time to explore but I can’t take the risk. If I miss the bus at 1601 my travels will be severely disrupted. A school coach pulls into the Square and drops some children off. Presumably few schoolchildren use the sparse local buses round here.
ABOVE: Somerton Square: Buses come into the town on a one-way circuit, so this is the only Town Centre stop
ABOVE: Cross the road from the picture above, turn around and this is what you get!
I don’t need to worry – the 77, which has come from Yeovil, turns up on the dot. It is labelled for Wells. Whilst most services on this route do go to Wells, this one is scheduled to terminate short of the town, at Old Wells Road “for the Hospital”. This is another Dennis Dart, in equally good shape for its 16 years’ service.
This is a quieter run. There are just five of us for the first part of the journey. There are open fields and not much else on this drive. Steep hills aren’t problematic for this veteran vehicle.
We divert into some very smart residential areas as we head back into Street. Back to Glaston House, and we pick up 14 passengers for the last lap. It would have been a couple more, but they have return tickets for route 376, which aren’t valid on here, even though we now cover the same route, and both services are run by First (albeit different First companies). Seems a shame, especially as I have been freely interchanging between the two First companies on a day ticket that covers both.
The driver also confirms here that the bus isn’t going to Wells, and the display has been corrected en route. I complete this ride and step onto the streets of Glastonbury for the first time. Famous for its music festival, of course, but such things are not for me. Interesting town to walk through, though.
ABOVE: Dennis Dart 42951 (WX06 OMH) in Glastonbury, near journey’s end
Overall I have been impressed by The Buses of Somerset. Clean, bright buses and, even if not the newest of vehicles, a smart and professional image is being conveyed. It feels more like one of the good independents than an operation by one of the largest bus companies in the country.
Affluent, rural Somerset is never going to be an area where buses are king. But The Buses of Somerset has done a good job in developing a network of services to link all of the key towns in this sprawling county.
There are other routes to try with this operator – really I have barely scratched the surface – so I need to come back this way some day. I wonder if I will ever ride another Dennis Dart in normal service?