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Minutes:
Mr David Redgewell, submitted the following statement on agenda item 6, Recommendation from the Scrutiny Committee:-
There is now an urgency to reopen the Taunton bus and coach station for social distancing measures.
Whilst we fully support the closure of East Reach for social distancing and pedestrian’s facilities plus cycling, the Parade and East Reach are main bus departure points for the following:-
Wells bus station via Street and Glastonbury.
Bristol and Bath bus station via route 29.
Service 30 to Chard and Axminster.
Weymouth and Dorchester via Lyme Regis, and Bridport.
Service 99 to Chard.
54 to Yeovil bus station via Langport and Somerton.
21 service to Bridgwater, Highbridge, Burnham on Sea and Weston Super Mare.
Local buses service 6 and park and ride services.
We must keep bus accessibility to Taunton town centre.
We must get proper social distancing on the bus stands in the town centre.
We cannot stack buses in Castle Way and Tower Street.
We need to open the bus station yard and layout bus stands safely for social distancing by taking all the seats and taping some seats off and removing some of seats the waiting room where people could queue safely with the door open and the tea stall open.
The lease money and departure charges can pay for the maintenance with government grants from the Department for Transport to improve bus station facilities or in the future upgrade the facilities.
A proper lease is required with First Group for the bus station.
Help with this could be sort from Sedgemoor District Council who run the Bridgwater bus station or South Somerset District Council who run the Yeovil bus station and Wincanton bus station or Mendip District Council who run the Wells bus station, Shepton Mallett interchange and Frome coach station.
It is very important that Taunton has a good public transport network and bus service and a modern town centre bus station. A further pick up point could also be located further down East Reach.
I hope you can make progress on closing the town centre to cars and keep buses and taxi services moving, as a single decker bus carries 10 passengers and a double decker 20 passengers at present.
Taunton bus station should be reopened and the Crescent become an access to the car park and a bus route.
This also allows buses to operate from the bus station and Castle Way stops and stop just after the traffic light junction at the top of East Reach with bus services to Wellington, Tiverton, Minehead and Dulverton. And National Express Coaches proper public transport interchange facilities are required at Taunton bus station.
Hope you can find an answer to the bus station and town centre bus stops.
ALEX CARTER FIRST GROUP MD wishes to lease the bus and coach station with National Express Coaches and other operators being able use the council run bus and coach station such as Hatch Green and Berry Coaches.
Taunton is a main south west region centre on the public transport network and the only major centre south west town or city without a bus and coach station.
Whilst we welcome the new bus rail interchange facilities at Taunton railway station, there are not enough bus stands and facilities for bus passengers and no staff accommodation. This design is mainly for departures to West Somerset and Minehead and the town centre.
Of course there is also a need for a community railway service between Bishop Lydeard and Watchet and Minehead as a train could carry 45 passengers on the route and the bus service at present just 11 under social distancing regulations and 20 passengers on a double decker.
So a community railway service on the West Somerset Railway would be very helpful in terms of social distancing.
There is also a need to improve passenger’s facilities at Riverside for the National Express Coach service to Plymouth, Bristol, London and the North.
We welcome the scrutiny commission bus coach and public transport working party and the reopening of Wellington Railway station.
But the most important public transport issue in Taunton is to reopen the bus and coach station.
To improve air quality and pedestrianize the town centre.
Please bring to the attention of the cabinet meeting.
DAVID REDGEWELL, SOUTH WEST TRANSPORT NETWORK and Railfuture Severnside
The Portfolio Holders responded:-
The decision to close the bus station was not made by Somerset West and Taunton Council. We had made contact with the Bus Company and were meeting them this week. We would also, where we could, influence the use of the station as a transport interchange moving forward to provide practical destinations for public transport interchanges in the future.