Bleak future for Melksham bus services

FEARS over the future of Melksham’s bus services continue to grow as further cuts are announced. 

Those who are currently campaigning to save the bus services in and around Melksham town have received more bad news. The 272 bus will no longer be running its early morning services at 06:48 and 07:41 to Melksham from Bath, from the 23rd August. They will be starting at Melksham Market Place instead, at 06:48 and 07:41 and picking up in the Forest, Queensway and Bowerhill area, then back via the Market Place at 07:10 and 08:03, carrying on to Bath at 07:58 and 08:52.

The First bus from Bath to Melksham will now run at 08:28, getting to the Market Place at 09:11 and Bowerhill (Halifax Road for the employment areas) at around 09:30. The people to be affected by this change will be people who travel into Melksham to work from Atworth, Box and beyond.

This comes at a time where there is uncertainty for bus users as to which service is next to be changed or axed entirely.

The Melksham Rail Link Bus ran for the last time on the 17th July, and the daytime route 234 will finish on the 1st August, along with the evening service also being axed. The RUH Hopper bus will run until next year, but is still not safe in the long term.

The Trans Wilts group have undertaken a survey to try and ascertain the impact that the changes and cancellations have made. They are aware of further  changes at the start of September, but they are likely to be minor and  expect that few other changes will happen for a few months.

Graham Ellis, community rail officer for Trans-Wilts said, “Better news is that train services, which have been limited at the end of July because of engineering works, resume at eight trains each way per day from 1st August.

“They provide services seven days a week into the early evening to and from both Chippenham and Trowbridge (and beyond) and are unlikely to significantly change until May 2017 – and then for the better.

“TransWilts started off as purely “trains” but now encompasses buses too, and we’re looking to fight alongside the community and with Wiltshire Council to help make savings and yet deliver a network of services for the future.  Where one set of doors may close, others may open.”