Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
No recent travel & transport from BBC stories as at 22:55 28 Apr 2024
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 22/05/24 - WWRUG / TransWilts update
02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
28th Apr (1996)
GNER franchise (Sea Containers) starts on ECML (*)

Train RunningDelayed
19:38 London Paddington to Swansea
19:53 London Paddington to Plymouth
20:44 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill
21:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads
22:10 Taunton to Bristol Temple Meads
23:03 Reading to Gatwick Airport
PollsThere are no open or recent polls
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
April 28, 2024, 23:06:49 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[138] Clan Line - by Clan Line !
[118] Visiting the pub on the way home.
[44] South Western Railways Waterloo - Bristol services axed
[42] access for all at Devon stations report
[27] Labour to nationalise railways within five years of coming to ...
[22] Misleading advertising?
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: 1 [2]
  Print  
Author Topic: Threat of bus service cuts in Somerset from April 2024.  (Read 2382 times)
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40843



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #15 on: February 21, 2024, 18:58:04 »


From Somerset Council:
Quote
• Service 28 will be revised, including some direct journeys between Taunton and Minehead, with an express service to Butlins numbered X28, which will operate Mondays to Fridays. Following feedback from stakeholders, the evening services will be retimed to align with trains serving Taunton station.

Good god - rocket science? I don't know the other routes but this seems to make sense to me. Why only now  provide a fast bus to shift the holiday crowds?

Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
infoman
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1305


View Profile
« Reply #16 on: February 22, 2024, 06:32:47 »

Express service Monday to Friday?

I would have thought most would arrive and depart Butlins on Saturday and Sundays.
Logged
JayMac
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 18924



View Profile
« Reply #17 on: February 22, 2024, 08:41:05 »

Butlins three night breaks start on a Friday. Four nights on a Monday. Seven nights on a Monday or Friday..
Logged

"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

- Sir Terry Pratchett.
Eliza
Full Member
***
Posts: 87


View Profile
« Reply #18 on: February 22, 2024, 12:05:29 »

The 28 bus to Minehead and Butlins is an appalling advert for Taunton and Somerset. The brown and ochre Quantock Line bus is designed for hop-on/off town travel, with very limited legroom and unsuited to a journey of 90 minutes, with luggage. I've viewed the bus stop on Station Road, the one nearest the train station, and estimated that 40 people, with luggage, were waiting to be taken to Butlins. Those lucky enough to board the single decker would most likely have stood all the way.

Anecdotally, elderly shoppers say that they avoid travelling by 28 on Mondays and Fridays, when the service is at its busiest, and, on such days, when the bus to Minehead is full and standing, it can be difficult to get off in Taunton.  It does make me wonder why the service is said to run at a loss. If the Somerset Bus Partnership was the organisation that got Buses of Somerset to run an express service to Butlins, they are to be congratulated.  Trying not to be entirely negative, I must say that the bus drivers do a good job in the circumstances, and the holidaymakers, who board their bus for Butlins, after a long wait, are remarkably calm and good natured.

Logged
TaplowGreen
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7800



View Profile
« Reply #19 on: February 22, 2024, 12:29:36 »

Butlins three night breaks start on a Friday. Four nights on a Monday. Seven nights on a Monday or Friday..

I'd rather have seven nights in Belmarsh.
Logged
JayMac
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 18924



View Profile
« Reply #20 on: February 22, 2024, 13:25:03 »

Butlins three night breaks start on a Friday. Four nights on a Monday. Seven nights on a Monday or Friday..

I'd rather have seven nights in Belmarsh.

I was imprisoned in Butlins, Minehead for several months in 1998. Worked there in the treasury, living on site. I was fired the night after the Argentina v England world cup match, the one where Beckham was sent off. The reason for my dismissal? I'd gone to one of the venues to watch the match straight after my shift. I was unaware of a rule about not drinking while in uniform.
Logged

"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

- Sir Terry Pratchett.
Fourbee
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 672


View Profile
« Reply #21 on: February 22, 2024, 14:03:47 »

Butlins three night breaks start on a Friday. Four nights on a Monday. Seven nights on a Monday or Friday..

I'd rather have seven nights in Belmarsh.

I was imprisoned in Butlins, Minehead for several months in 1998. Worked there in the treasury, living on site. I was fired the night after the Argentina v England world cup match, the one where Beckham was sent off. The reason for my dismissal? I'd gone to one of the venues to watch the match straight after my shift. I was unaware of a rule about not drinking while in uniform.
Some employment contracts now state that merely being in a licenced premises in uniform is not allowed. That would rule out pub lunches (even if on soft drinks) or cafes that sell the occasional bottle of beer. I guess in winter a zip up jacket would help avoid detection!
Logged
JayMac
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 18924



View Profile
« Reply #22 on: February 22, 2024, 17:26:52 »

I'd taken my tie and badge off. Not good enough for the general manager though, who'd reported my presence to my departmental manager and human resources. Said GM happened to be in the same venue, in his suit, also drinking while watching England lose on penalties. I pointed this out to my manager and human resources during my meeting without biscuits the following day. Highlighting the double standards didn't save my job.
Logged

"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

- Sir Terry Pratchett.
Fourbee
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 672


View Profile
« Reply #23 on: February 23, 2024, 12:05:15 »

I'd taken my tie and badge off. Not good enough for the general manager though, who'd reported my presence to my departmental manager and human resources. Said GM happened to be in the same venue, in his suit, also drinking while watching England lose on penalties. I pointed this out to my manager and human resources during my meeting without biscuits the following day. Highlighting the double standards didn't save my job.
It took me a while in my working life to work out Human Resources were generally management sycophants (despite the friendly propaganda).
Just out of interest, if the announcement about the buses being "safe" had come earlier would that have influenced your decision to buy a car?
Logged
JayMac
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 18924



View Profile
« Reply #24 on: February 23, 2024, 23:15:02 »

Probably not. Happenstance also saw me inherit some money, making the decision to buy a car now somewhat easier. I was already saving up though.
Logged

"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

- Sir Terry Pratchett.
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: 1 [2]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page