WESTBURY Town Council is asking Wiltshire Council to bid for government funding to reinstate the half-hourly D1 service from Westbury to Trowbridge and Bath.
Central Government has recently made available funding of an extra £30million under the ‘Rural Mobility Fund,’ allowing local authorities a one-off grant to improve current bus services or to restore lost services.
It is said that an excess of £600,000 could be made available for Wiltshire to improve the transport options in the county.
Due to changes to the First Bus D1 service last year, which resulted in a service reduction for Westbury residents, Westbury Town Council is now urging Wiltshire Council to secure monies from this new fund in order to return the now hourly service, back to a half-hourly one.
In a letter to Wiltshire Council, Westbury Town Council said, “Westbury Town Council (WTC) welcomes the publication of the Government’s consultation document Rural Mobility Fund – call for Expressions of Interest. WTC notes the proposal to make available £30million extra bus funding in the form of a one-off grant ‘to be paid direct to local authorities to enable them to improve current bus services or restore lost services’.
“Committed to making improvements in services for Westbury residents and responding positively to climate-change concerns, we regard an improved public transport offer as a positive benefit for residents of our town and surrounding area, at least in the short term.
“We therefore ask Wiltshire Council to bid for monies from the Rural Mobility Fund which would enable the D1 service between Westbury and Bath to return to a half-hourly service for at least 12 months.
“We also encourage Wiltshire Council to lobby government to make the grant permanent as we believe this best serves the interests of residents who require accessible, reasonably priced public transport.
“As the only bus service connecting residents to both the county town of Trowbridge and Bath, we consider the flexibility of an half-hourly service to be vital to an ever-growing local population.”
