Update - August 2010 I now have details ... as from 5th September 2010, there are major changes to the buses from Bath to Melksham, Devizes and beyond. See [here] for new route diagram and times.

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An early "alert". I heard a rumor that the 23:08 Bath to Melksham and Devizes bus was to be discontinued early in September - and that's a popular bus which gives people of those two towns the opportunity of a night out (it's quite busy late in the week). So I wrote to one of my contacts at county as follows:

There's a rumor flying around that the last bus from Bath to Melksham is to cease running early in September (part of routes 271 / 272 / 273). As this is a service which attracts Wiltshire Council Subsidy, and we're now within the six weeks notice necessary, I wonder if you could let me know of any charges to these routes that will be happening within that period, and also of any other longer term changes that you're aware of. Hopefully, I can give some publicity to your answer and either help scotch rumors, or alert people ahead of time.

Here's his reply (which I feel I should be publishing here as I specifically said I would!):

Hi Graham, whilst the 271/2/3 will be changing in September, the last bus at 2308 remains as at present. However, the daytime service will be terminating at Bowerhill, ie not going through to Devizes. Faresaver will be providing a 'replacement' daytime service to Devizes.

I'm not sure of the detail of what that means - whether people from Devizes will have to catch the Faresaver to Bowerhill and change onto a Bath bus there, or if it will be a through service. Nor do I know (I didn't ask - not really my "business") what's happening to the Potterne / Lavington / Easterton / Urchfont section of the 272 and 273 routes.

More updates to come, no doubt!

P.S. If Faresaver are running the daytime service to Devizes and First the evening buses, does it mean that return tickets will be interchangeable? This would be a long overdue improvement!

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Comment by Anon (published 2010-08-04) Suggested link.
Faresaver have an X72 timetable effective 5th September 2010 on their web page. Extra service in the morning and evening competing with current first timetale.note that the last bus to Devizes appear a request only past Bowerhill.

(written 2010-08-04, updated 2010-08-24)

 Z511 - Public Transport - Road
  [3580] Melksham Area - buses, trains, cycles, and roads. Meeting, 17.1.2012 - (2012-01-15)
  [3579] Transport in Cambridgeshire - seen by an outside observer. What can Wiltshire learn? - (2012-01-15)
  [3564] I wish I was not a special case - (2011-12-29)
  [3523] When competition is not a good idea - Melksham Bus Absurdity - (2011-11-16)
  [3504] Coaches from Trowbridge and Melksham to London - (2011-11-01)
  [3487] Public transport - road and rail - (2011-10-19)
  [3486] How important is public transport to people in the Melksham area? - (2011-10-19)
  [3471] Vintage Bus Running Day in Warminster. An example of good bus practise. - (2011-10-09)
  [3404] Buses on the Cambridge Guided Busway - (2011-08-24)
  [3301] Using public transport - USA style - (2011-05-25)
  [3290] Changes (and no changes) at Melksham bus stops - (2011-05-15)
  [3194] Buses - what they cost and their future direction in the SW and in Wiltshire - (2011-03-06)
  [3126] Car Parking in Melksham - thoughts on the proposed scheme, and wider thoughts too - (2011-01-09)
  [2983] Strong arm tactics in the bus industry? Poor result for the customer! - (2010-10-03)
  [2982] Travel, Transport and Tourism - A vision for Melksham, 2026 - (2010-10-03)
  [2958] What do these road markings mean? Could Confusion Kill? - (2010-09-17)
  [2933] Bath - Melksham - Devizes buses from September - (2010-08-23)
  [2919] London to Calne, Corsham, Melksham, Bradford-on-Avon, Chippenham by public Transport - (2010-08-13)
  [2857] Park and Ride at Batheaston - will it solve Wiltshires Ills? - (2010-07-06)
  [2791] Bath to Melksham buses - times - (2010-06-03)
  [2789] Melksham to London (Heathrow, and Central London) - (2010-06-02)
  [2771] Melksham to Calne by public transport - (2010-05-20)
  [2672] Dear Planners, please provide viable alternatives - (2010-03-11)
  [2662] Is Melksham public transport actually used? - (2010-03-05)
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  [2522] Integrated public Transport - what could be done for Melksham - (2009-12-01)
  [2515] Why we have two buses an hour - but not a half hourly service - (2009-11-28)
  [2431] Moving busstop! - (2009-09-30)
  [2372] Public Transport from (and to) Melksham on Sundays - (2009-08-23)
  [2328] Melksham - no trains, no southbound buses through the town - (2009-08-08)
  [2268] Westbury Bypass Refused - looking forward - (2009-07-04)
  [2083] Do you support a decent train service? Please sign up! - (2009-03-15)
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  [1777] The Rise and Rise of First Bus Fares - (2008-08-29)
  [1723] Bath - Melksham - Devizes. Bus route changes, new timetable - (2008-07-26)
  [1668] Talk on TransWilts train service to Green Party - (2008-06-07)
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  [1428] Travel Across Wiltshire - the game - (2007-11-11)
  [1315] Two years of campaigning for a train service - (2007-08-22)
  [1254] Comparing bus stops - (2007-07-01)
  [1125] Train service - petititon reply - (2007-03-31)
  [1085] Lawrence Webb's Melksham Taxi service - (2007-02-18)
  [818] Heard, yes. Considered, no. The case for the train. - (2006-07-30)
  [764] Journey planning - Xephos v Transport Direct - (2006-06-16)
  [474] Vintage Bus Day - (2005-10-23)
  [459] Kiss and Ride - (2005-10-09)
  [187] a popular bus number - (2005-01-23)
  [119] PHP course. Come by train. - (2004-11-15)

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Switching from Adobe Photoshop to Gimp - testing it on animals
Defining static methods in Python
Melksham Area Board meeting of last week
Bath to Devizes bus via Melksham - changing again in September
Community consultation - a true open input
Ambassador or Anorak?
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Programming Standards from the start!