An enquiry in my "in box" ... data / news to pass on back would be gratefully received.
I’m looking to establish the history behind the inclusion on National Rail Enquiries, and the promotion (or lack of) of the current TransWilts Route 49 bus Timetables & Fares with onwards/feeder rail services at both Swindon and Trowbridge? I’ve discovered that ‘Devizes Bus’ (XAQ) exists on the National Rail Journey Planner as an ‘originating station’ (but not as a destination), and that journeys can only be booked for travel via Swindon (not Trowbridge). Interestingly, bus only journeys to Swindon can be purchased via National Rail, which is interesting. I also found it surprising that journeys can’t be booked to/from Avebury World Heritage Site which, from my own limited experience of leisure travel on Route 49, generates quite a few journeys by tourists – but could generate many more if the service was more widely advertised.
Yet if someone wishes to travel from ‘Devizes Bus’ (XAQ) for travel via Trowbridge, NRE‡ will only offer journey options via bus to SWINDON and thence onward by rail. Even more bizarre is if you request a journey from ‘Devizes Bus’ (XAQ) to Trowbridge (for which the 49 operates an hourly direct service), NRE will only offer journeys in the opposite direction to Swindon, thence via rail, at combined bus/rail fares several times the bus only fare! This does not, to my mind, appear to be a properly Integrated Bus-Rail link!!
I also found it surprising that journeys can’t be booked to/from Avebury World Heritage Site which, from my own experience of travel on Route 49, generates quite a few journeys by tourists – but could generate many more if the service was more widely advertised.
My thoughts:
The 49 service (they have used the “TransWilts Express” name for many years) started off as a government supported service from Swindon to Devizes under some form of rural development scheme which (no doubt) one of my contacts will be able to fill me in with in more detail. Very much designed with Rail - Bus in mind, over the years it did / has run past the railway station to pick up / and / or to drop off, but with poor signage, a lack of advertising to train users, and a very high proportion of users travelling on the service to get to Swindon’s excellent town centre, the rail link has been a minor part of the traffic.
Tourism has been on and off the agenda for the service; some summers it was run by Thamesdown’s open top buses at weekends / on Sundays.
A logical route extension was to Trowbridge (I’m not sure what the previous service was on the Devizes -> Seend -> Trowbridge main road) and this was bolted on much later than the original service and (it would seem) road / rail link add-on stuff from the Swindon to Devizes section wasn’t extended. Techically, it’s still two routes - Swindon to Devizes and Devizes to Trowbridge, but both have the same route numbers, there are through (bus) fares for those of us too young or travelling too early in the day to be on ENCTS▸ passes, and even the vehicles go on through. The timetables show an interesting “though connection” symbol. This is done to keep the route within bus route limits rather than turn it into a long distance coach, which would require additional vehicle fitments such as tachographs and bring in a whole swathe of extra rules designed to ensure the safety of long distance lorries, but also applying to other ;long distance heavy vehicles.
I note that there are new registrations for the 49 from 30th April. My understanding is that the Sunday service (which only runs Swindon to Devizes) may be become once every 2 hours, and that some “lightly used” runs at the beginning and end of the day are being withdrawn. That has far more of a potential impact on commuters than others, though it will have a knock on effect in removing the traffic generated by the other half of return trips from people who use the lighter buses. The statement is that the saving are promoted by Wiltshire Council to make “more efficient use of resources” - in other words a subsidy cut, but I’m unsure whether the particular runs concerned are presently subsidised, or whether the operator said he would need a subsidy in the future if they were to continue as they’re no longer viable commercially.
Also from 30th April, the Sunday service from Swindon to Marlborough and Pewesy is renumbered, rerouted, and reduced to just Swindon to Marlborough. I need to check back, but I think the current Sunday service may run via Avebury, but the future one may not?
Corrections of fact welcome.
