Whilst many areas of the UK are dominated by the big groups, there are still pockets of independent bus operators to be found. Richard Sharman takes a look at one such location, the city of Bath
It is rare in the month of January – and the middle of winter – to get a day where it is relatively warm and the sun is shining, so whilst on the way to the South Coast for a feature recently I decided to avoid the normal trip down the A34 and M3 and take the scenic route by stopping in the beautiful city of Bath. Located just 13 miles away from Bristol via the A4, it is fair to say that Bath couldn’t be more different in terms of the lack of hustle and bustle. Once you arrive in the city you feel almost at ease because of the beautiful surroundings, the mix of old and new architecture and the fact that being in a valley there are some stunning views of rows of old houses, an impressive railway viaduct and rolling hills.
Independent scene
[wlm_nonmember][…]By subscribing you will benefit from:
- Operator & Supplier Profiles
- Face-to-Face Interviews
- Lastest News
- Test Drives and Reviews
- Legal Updates
- Route Focus
- Industry Insider Opinions
- Passenger Perspective
- Vehicle Launches
- and much more!
Bath city centre boasts an impressive number of bus services operated by independent operators, with the largest provider being Chippenham-based Faversaver. Back in December 2019 I wrote an operator profile on the family-owned firm that had just celebrated 40 years of operation (see issue 1425, dated 1 January 2020), and since then the fleet has been updated further. The fleet name design has been modernised and two brand new Euro VI Alexander Dennis Enviro200MMCs delivered. Faresaver provides a frequent daily service on route X31 from its home town into the city, and a number of other routes with varying frequencies and operating days serving rural communities and colleges.
The second-largest independent operator of services is Radstock-based CT Coaches, which operates an Optare Solo on service 179 to Westfield near Midsomer Norton, providing five trips daily from Monday to Friday and a short working each way on a Saturday. Two Mercedes-Benz Sprinters cover its other Bath routes, with one staying on the rural 768 all day and the other interworking on the various local journeys.
The newcomer to the scene here is Brighton-based community interest company The Big Lemon. Following its expansion into Bristol to cover former Bristol Community Transport routes, it has now gained three former First Bus routes in Bath thanks to Bath & North East Somerset Council developing a long-term plan to restore the at-risk bus services.
Tom Druitt, Founder and Chief Executive of The Big Lemon, said at the time of the launch on 28 November 2022: “The Big Lemon is passionate about providing an excellent passenger experience on all our buses and we’re excited to be coming to Bath. Our drivers in Brighton and Bristol have become famous for their friendly and helpful service, and we look forward to bringing the same ethos to our new services in Bath.”
The Big Lemon also stated that due to the short timeframe it had for commencing the service in Bath, it would initially use diesel buses while it develops plans to transition to zero-emission electric vehicles, which it says will be powered by renewable energy. At the time of my visit, Alexander Dennis Enviro200s and MMCs were in use, but the firm’s electric Higer Steeds have seen use in both Bath and Bristol.
Libra Travel operates a number of bus services from its depot in Frome, but the one service that operates into Bath is the Monday to Friday route 94, offering six departures a day. One of the last diesel-powered Switch Solo SRs built is used on the service.
Alan Peters’ Abus operation from Bristol is also present in Bath, where it operates route 22 around the outskirts of the city from the University of Bath sports training village to the university’s Arrivals Square eight times a day on weekdays.
Bath & North East Somerset Council itself operates one stage carriage service; the one trip each way Wednesdays-only 752 follows a lengthy rural route from Hinton Blewett. The council also operates the Bath Dial-a-Ride scheme, with two Volkswagen Transporter-based Mellor Tucana IIs. It operates between 0930 and 1430hrs from Monday to Friday in the Bath urban area, and on the day of my visit last week, both vehicles were being kept busy.
Information
To be fair to the West of England Combined Authority, every bus stop I saw in the city centre had recently been updated with information on the Government’s £2 single fare scheme, and timetables were easy to read, showing the departure times with each service having its own panel, route details and operator information.
In addition, a detailed public transport guide is availablle, with information on all services in terms of route, frequency and days of operation. It explains fares, Bath’s park & ride, and some information on metrobus services in neighbouring Bristol. Tourists are not forgotten either, and details of the Tootbus open-top tours are included.
I picked the guide up in the First Bus travel shop at Bath bus station, which by all accounts does not seem to be staffed any more, but did have two racks of leaflets for local attractions and a number of elderly people waiting inside keeping warm whilst waiting for their bus! No printed timetables or publicity is provided by First Bus here it would appear.
This guide is one of three, in print and online, as part of the Travelwest scheme, and can also be found online at travelwest.info/busmaps. It is good to see this sort of publication in print; when local and combined authorities wonder why subsidised bus services are not used, it is often because no information is actually provided, and the only ones who do know are the handful of locals who have been using it for years. So well done to the West of England Combined Authority for producing such a comprehensive guide.
Big bus group activity
If you are not interested in the independents, then Bath is certainly not lacking in big bus group activity either. In fact, all that is missing here is Arriva and Rotala (which has previously operated here when it still had its Wessex subsidiary).
First West of England is still the dominant operator in Bath, with the largest number of bus services although there have been a number of service changes recently. A concerted effort has been made to get the vast majority of the fleet into the blue-based Bath City livery, there are thus very few in ‘Olympia’ colours. Stagecoach buses can also be found operating into Bath from Stagecoach West’s Stroud depot on route 620 from Old Sodbury and Yate up to five time a day.
RATP Group-owned Bath Bus Company, formerly an independent of course, has a highly visible presence with its bright red open-top Tootbus and City Sightseeing fleets operating on its City and Skyline tours. Also operated is the Air Decker service from Bath to Bristol Airport, running every hour using a fleet of seven Egyptian-built MCV DD103 and EvoSeti-bodied Volvos and a solitary Wrightbus Gemini 2.
National Express can be found too, with services 403 to London and 100 to Birmingham and Weston-Super-Mare. Go-Ahead Group makes an appearance operating the X76 from Marlborough to Combe Park Royal United Hospital via the city centre once a day in each direction on weekdays through its Go South Coast subsidiary Swindon Bus Company.
