SaveTheTrain, TransWilts and Melksham RUG
Public and sustainable transport in Wiltshire

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For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))

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You are on the site of Well House Consultants who provide Open Source Training Courses and business hotel accommodation. You are welcome to browse and use our resources subject to our copyright statement and to add in links from your pages to ours.
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Public Transport - Road
Resources from the web site of Well House Consultants on the subject of Public Transport - Road. We provide open source training course and business hotel accommodation in Melksham, Wiltshire, England

Background
It's surprising how complex the public transport system to Melksham is, and how often it changes - it's very good indeed if you know what's available, but it can be somewhat frustrating if you don't. And so we've built up a series of resources that cover public road transport in the area, which can be accessed via this resource page.
Articles and tips on this subjectupdated
4703What do people use the bus for in Wiltshire - survey interim results.
At the end of "Catch the Bus" week, I promised an update on how our survey's going. With people still completing the survey by the day, I don't want to give away very early data on their opinions on whats important on bus journeys as it might influence others yet to complete the survey. However, I don't ...
2016-07-11
 
4692How are bus support payments currently calculated?
How are current bus subsisidies calculated? Based on competitive bids from different operators to provide supported services, or that's the theory. But if there's only one operator bidding, if there's a rush to replace a commercial service that's being withdrawn, there will be a temptation for the ...
2016-06-07
 
4690Buses in Wiltshire - potential changes and where we stand at the moment
Last year (2015), starting in April, Wiltshire Council investigated options for reducing the amount of money it spends on subsidising public transport buses, with a view to halving the amount spent. Through the summer and autumn, stakeholder meetings were held, inputs sought and a public consultation ...
2016-05-30
(longer)
4683Saudi Arabia or Weymouth?
It's a quiet, cool Sunday morning ... great to be back in the UK having spent last week delivering a Ruby Course in Saudi Arabia. Walking out of my accommodation there just after 7 in the mrning, I was already ht by a wall of heat - in the high 30s celcius - for the 15 minute / 2 checkpoint walk to the ...
2016-05-22
 
4670The end, or the start?
Wiltshire's Consultation on bus support (£5.1 million per year) and the various options they have in order to reduce that support to £2.6 million (or lower) formally closed at 5 p.m. yesterday. There have been similar consultations in neighbouring shire counties recently as well Although ...
2016-04-05
 
4667Wiltshire Supported Bus consultation - final few days
There's just a few days remaining for you to make your inputs to Wiltshire Council's consultation on the future of supported buses. They're looking to reduce the amount of money paid for support by a half from next year. A straight cut of a half of the funding would almost inevitable lead to significant ...
2016-03-31
 
4664Mallory Place bus stop - services to Bath
I'm delighted to report that the bus stop sign has re-appeared at Mallory Place, Bowerhill, Melksham - taking the NIMBY approach, (or rather the IMBY approach), it's the nearest stop to where I live - and it also services some other houses in The Spa, Mallory Place, Wellington Square, most of Wellington ...
2016-03-27
 
4639Working out the costs of running a bus service through the day
I like to work from strength of knowledge of mechanisms. And on that basis, I've modelled the costs in running a bus and the income it might generate each hour through the day. The figures used in this model are llustrative educated guesses only. It costs me 100 pounds a day in salary to pay a bus ...
2016-03-06
 
4660What is happening on the 231 bus? What are you going to do about it?
Question from my inbox: "What is happening on the 231 bus? What are you going to do about it?" Answer: At present, First (West of England) run a bus service - the 231 - from Chippenham to Bath, via Corsham and Box. Apart from the final two journeys from Chippenham to Bath on Monday to Saturday (at ...
2016-03-04
(longer)
4654Getting to the Royal United Hospital - the Hopper and the alternatives
Written 23rd February 2016 / completed and posted 24th I had an outpatient appointment at the Royal United Hospital in Bath's western suburbs this morning; left home at 06:50 and caught the bus (272) a couple of minutes before 7 at Mallory Place ... into Bath at 07:58, half an hour there for a quick ...
2016-02-24
(longest)
4648Why is bus funding a much hotter topic than a new set of traffic lights?
When you look at an annual spend of 5 million pounds spread over a population of 483,000 in Wilsthire, you're looking at 20p per person per week, 14p of which comes from council tax and 6p from central governmnent funding. Problem is that (in the case of being a bus subsidy) it's a revenue cost that ...
2016-02-16
 
4636Rail user groups worried about what is happening on the buses
On 20th January I attended the West Wilts Rail User group meeting in Trowbridge, and yesterday (30th January) the RailFuture Severnside meeting in Frome. Very different groups - one a current passeneger group with a strong interest in rail history, and the other a group that looks forward - and far ...
2016-01-31
 
4631What would the Wiltshire Council bus cuts mean for Melksham?
Result of option 6 - the following services would remain Monday to Saturday To Bath with Faresaver at:    07:03, 07:38, 08:24 and every hour to 14:24, 16:24 and 16:54 To Bath with First at:    07:35 and every hour to 16:35 To Bowerhill and Devizes with Faresaver at:    07:28 ...
2016-01-24
 
4629Making travel time useful time on public transport
I travelled to Taunton and back (from Melksham) yesterday by public transport. It would probaly have been slightly quicker for me to have driven. On the journeys ... I had breakfast and coffees. I wrote a technical article to post online later. I sorted out a database issue on our server. I read the ...
2016-01-22
 
4624Campaigning for a sensible bus solution and not against anyone!
Oh my goodness - Radio Wiltshire had me featuring as a campaigner yesterday morning ... and colloquially it's against bus cuts. But actually I'm campaigning for a better alternative / system to what we have at the moment. There could be (and indeed there was in the headline / tone) doom and gloom. ...
2016-01-17
 
4619Buses - not about the buses, but about the people who use the buses
I'm helping to promote Option 24/7 - a practical, positive and affordable development of the public transport network in Wiltshire. Money has to be saved on current subsidies, and the other options on offer are "Beeching Style" cuts - a downward spiral of services. But a network solution rather than ...
2016-01-11
 
4615Questions for First (West of England)
Yesterday, I was invited to send (by this evening!) any questions / matters I would like First Bus to answer at the forthcoming Customer Panel meeting in Bath. Normally I would cast around for questions too, but with just 24 hours to ask, receive answers and collate I have stuck with known issues. Some ...
2016-01-05
(longest)
4592A comparison of the public transport alternatives to the Royal United Hospital, Bath - from Melksham.
Two months ago, I wrote two pieces about the Connext 2 / RUH Hopper service that takes people from North and West Wilts to the ROyal United Hospital. The first - [here] regretted the location (not appropiate for the area it serves) of the RUH, appreciated the resulting need for transport to be provided, ...
2015-12-06
 
4547RUH Hopper - experience and thoughts forward
I wrote a bit about the RUH Hopper the other day - the Wiltshire to Hospital service that's currently out for consultation - see [here] for those initial thoughts. I've used the service (20th October 2015) for my own hospital appointment - further thoughts ... What an excllent trip! The RUH Hopper ...
2015-10-22
 
4546Is the RUH hopper a limited, duplicate service running unnecessarily and at high cost?
The Royal United Hospital covers Bath and North and West Wiltshire - an area of about 20 miles by 20 miles. But it's situated just a few hundred yards from the boundary of that area - and furthermore it's "hidden" behind the city of Bath from the area it serves, in the 'burbs of that city. It was our ...
2015-10-18
(longer)
4500The TransWilts Community Intergrated Transport Corridor
Here's a vision for the future. Marketing, intertickets, and connections between buses and trains along the TransWilts corridor. Using buses for the shorter journeys and to link some of the smaller communities, together with trains to provide the travel between main towns and hubs. Most of these bus ...
2015-05-29
 
4425A Welsh valley - what the transport looks like in 2015
I'm taking the opportunity of two successive weeks in Wales to spend the weekend here - and indeed we've hired a self catering cottage at Cwmgors which costs little different to a hotel for the period of the course. Still at work but in a different setting, and an opportunity to look at "how other do ...
2015-02-15
 
4290National Express replaced by train and by Megabus from Chippenham to London
National Express Coaches are now only serving the centre of Chippenham twice a day - down from 8 a day a couple of months ago. So you can no longer travel from Melksham to London by taking the bus into the centre of Chippenham and catching the National Express. However, where one door closes, another ...
2014-07-16
 
4286Reaction in Radstock to new First bus prices
There is concern in Radstock at the new First bus fares, just as there is concern in Melksham. There's a Melksham community transport group meeting on 30th July, and as a member of the First Bath Customer panel (and so perhaps more informed than most on these matter), I went to Radstock yesterday evening ...
2014-07-12
(longer)
4263Chippenham - Melksham - Trowbridge, public transport over Easter (2014)
For the first time for many years - YES - there is public transport running this Easter from Chippenham via Melksham to Trowbridge at useful times. Please use it! * Trains run daily (Just £5.00 off peak day return, Chippenham to Trowbridge) * Faresaver X34 bus runs daytime about twice an hour ...
2014-04-12
 
4257Over a pound a kilometre - my bus in Weston-super-mare
I don't know whether to laugh or cry ... My destination yesterday was 3.5 km - as the gull flies - from Weston-super-mare station. How can 3.5 km be quite for difficult? Research ahead of time had told me that I wanted a No. 21 bus from Reva Road and had given me a map from the station to the bus ...
2014-04-06
 
4247You wait a long time - then buses come in threes. It's timetabled that way!
"Why is it you wait for a bus for half an hour then three come along together". That's often said in jest, but it seems to really happen. The sad truth in Wiltshire is that the reason behind this stange (and un-useful) pattern in when services turn up is because that's how it's planned. Look at ...
2014-03-09
 
4240Melksham Rail Link
• From February 2014, "Melksham Rail Link" bus will run from Bowerhill, Melksham Gateway, Melksham Forest and the town centre to Melksham railway station to connect with the morning commuter trains to Swindon. • In the evening, the "Melksham Rail Link" bus will leave Melksham station a few ...
2014-01-28
 
4228Mallory Place, The Spa, Wellington Drive, Melksham - a Christmas present for you
I noticed yesterday - Christmas day - a new bus stop. In "My Back Yard" ... as in the saying "NIMBY" - not in my back yard. THANK YOU, Santa. Complete surprise - not something that (to my knowledge) anyone's been campaigning actively for or even thought about. But when you do think about it, it makes ...
2013-12-27
 
4111Zigzag bus - forward for the future, or decaying service?
I'm writing up this, on the Zigzag bus, as a result of discussions at yesterday's TransWilts Link meeting, when the subject was discussed by a number of bus users and experts; it's in draft form at the moment, but I have been especially encouraged to document it early and not at the August close of consultation The ...
2013-10-22
(longer)
4194TransWilts Link - meeting notes from 19th October
A very successful TransWilts Link meeting yesterday in Westbury. What we lacked in numbers of delegates we made up in quality of people and knowledge, and the discussions were really useful, forward thinking and brought together people from Bedwyn in the east to Westbury in the west, and from Royal Wootton ...
2013-10-20
(longest)
4191Getting people to and from Melksham Station - not 20 but 700 times a day
There are currently around 20 train journeys made per day to / from Melksham. That represents well under one journey per year per head of population. By comparison, journeys at Warminster are 48 journeys per head of population - that's the next lowest for a station serving a major urban area - rising ...
2013-10-18
(longer)
4190A radical proposal - a cheap and effective way to provide home to city commuter transport
This is a proposal for the implementation of the LSTF funded bus extensions at Melksham in such a way that they provide effective commuter services to Swindon, Reading and London. Morning Run the town minibus from Bowerhill via the east of Melksham estates to the station, to arrive there before each ...
2013-10-18
 
4192A positive progress behind the scenes
"To a degree, there's someting of lull before the strorm in public visibility of TransWilts improvements. The new FGW franchise only came into force a couple of days ago, and having that franchise running as a whole is something of a necessary pre-requisite to having First group run additional TransWilts ...
2013-10-16
 
4186Melksham to Bath and Zigzag buses - at a turning point?
There are 2 buses every hour from Melksham to Bath, Monday to Saturday daytime - the X72 operated by Faresaver  and the 271 / 272 operated by First.   After an extended series of requests, these two services now have a varied route so providing hourly services from Devizes and beyond, ...
2013-10-12
(longer)
4181Grumbling about trains? Buses can be far worse!
We grumble sometimes about a lack of information on the trains and linked things. But it took just a single journey by BUS today to make me realise just how much worse it could be. I walked from home to the nearest bus stop; a five minute walk, in good time, for a bus that (accoring to an online check) ...
2013-10-05
 
4179Changing transport and destinations - looking forward to a good future
Yesterday, I caught the bus at 07:38 from the end of our road into Trowbridge, arriving there at 08:19. It's service number 236 that runs each morning from Melksham town centre, via Bowerhill, Semington, Paxcroft Mead, Hilperton, Horse Road, Wyke Road, Victoria Road and St Thomas Road, and it replaced ...
2013-09-21
 
4171Mapping road accidents in Melksham and elsewhere too
Where are the accident black spots in your town? I came across this interesting site - www.crashmap.co.uk which lets you see a map of accidents from 2005 to 2011 (2012 to be added soon) and display them by seriousness, type of vehicle (or pedestrian) involved, etc. Useful material to help you think ...
2013-09-14
 
4152Why are bus fares so high?
When Lisa and I took the bus into Devizes in the evening a couple of weeks ago, we spent around 12 pounds for the return trip, and it would have been much more convenient and cheaper for us to drive. We live less than 6 miles from Devizes, and the bus journeys at the time we went are subsidised. If the ...
2013-08-24
 
4150Melksham Regular Public Transport Map - as at August 2013
Here's a Melksham public transport map, showing regular bus services and trains. Service shown in summary: • X34, Faresaver. Chippenham - Melksham - Trowbridge - Frome, every 30 minutes Monday to Friday daytime • 14, Frome Minibuses. Asda - Market Place - Melksham Forest - Queensway - Snowberry ...
2013-08-17
 
4149Bus changes to Bath - good idea, but I despair at information available
I celebrate the changes made to the 271 / 272 bus route from Bath to Melksham and yet I despair at the quality of information available on the new service. With one of the two bus companies on the Bath to Melksham route running a loop around Melksham Forest and Bowerhill, and the other running a more ...
2013-08-17
 
4143Bus times - Melksham to Bath from 28th July 2013
From 28th July 2013 - Buses from Well House Manor, Melksham, to Bath Faresaver run a daytime service (route X72) from outside Well House Manor to Bath (Dorchester Street) about every hour on Mondays to Saturdays. First Bus run a daily service - hourly during the day on Mondays to Saturdays, less frequent ...
2013-07-27
 
4124Chippenham - Melksham - Trowbridge bus changes next month
I now have changes to the 234 bus route as well; here's the new timetable - it only serves Melksham on Mondays to Saturdays.     No great time to study it yet - but the one critical time - the 19:16 bus off Chippenham station for Melksham is retimed to 19:24. That's the biggest step in ...
2013-06-29
 
4123New timetables from 28th July - bus routes 271 and 272
First are changing the route and timetables on their 271 and 272 from 28th July. New routes and timetables were registered with the bus licensing folks at least 56 days before the changes, and they're available there for all - but at a price, which has to be paid by cheque or postal order. You would ...
2013-06-29
 
4113Wiltshire and Melksham Transport - what is going on?
My meeting notes on the TransWilts Use Groups co-ordination meeting. Subject discussed / messages raised on Saturday. One MP, one Wiltshire Councillor, 2 Presidents of Chamber of Commerce, one FSB area representation for Transport, one Campaign for Better Transport Dynamo, one council expert officer, ...
2013-06-15
 
4108The painful cost of local travel to Melksham
Last night, I travelled from Manchester to Melksham; 192 miles and 3 hours and 32 minutes. Driving a petrol car, value up to £13,000, and doing about 10,000 miles a year, that's an overall cost of £88.74 - 44.62p per mile according to the AA's runnng cost tables. But I prefer to travel by ...
2013-06-08
 
4032Easier public transport from Melksham to Bristol Airport
Bus service changes from 24 March 2013 Bus number: A4 Route: Bath to Bristol Airport Operators: Bath Bus Company Ltd New hourly service operating every day except Christmas Day. In Bristol, the service will operate via Brislington, Hengrove and Highridge to Bristol Airport. In Bristol, local fares ...
2013-03-06
 
4022A request for all of Melksham transport groups to work integrated
It was suggested the other night that Melksham's Community Area Partnership Transport Group might like to run as separate groups, looking at different modes of transport - Buses, Trains, Car, Cycle, Foot. And whilst I agree that focus groups on individual modes might be useful at times, I cannot agree ...
2013-03-02
 
4023Melksham to Chippenham (Station) bus services - times and routes
I welcome the recent improvement in bus services between Chippenham and Melksham on Monday to Friday during the day. I think it's a great pity that the opportunity of a new timetable was not taken to space out the buses more evenly. Almost inevitably the buses run at least half empty, (the 15:13 ...
2013-03-01
 
3951Christmas Bus Schedule for Melksham - First Bus
From the Bath customer panel (of which, somehow, I'm a member ...) here are the services that will be running on Melksham routes (234, 235, 271 and 272) over the holiday period. Normal days: Up to and including Sunday 23rd December - normal service Saturday 29th December - normal Saturday service Sunday ...
2012-12-15
 
3937Agenda for Wiltshire Link Travel groups meeting, Saturday 1st December 2012
The Laverton, Westbury, Saturday 1st December 2012 Wiltshire Link meeting for Travel and Transport User Groups and Interested Parties. If you feel this is for you - please sign up and come along [more details and signup form] Please feel free to arrive from 10 a.m.; coffee and biscuits will be available ...
2012-12-08
 
3938A long overdue meeting - a steeping stone towards coordinate transport user inputs
A rapt audience at yesterday's Travel and Transport coordination meeting for users and user groups in Westbury ... I fell asleep last night in a mixture of exhaustion and elation. We met at The Laverton in Westbury - All seats we had laid out were filled, with latecomers grabbing extra chairs. Representatives ...
2012-12-08
 
3929Melksham Bus Issues - to be raised at First Bus Customer Panel
This evening, I'm at the First Bus Customer Panel in Bath for its first meeting. Whilst I'm not the most frequent of bus service users, I do use a variety of them, I have looked into issues and asked questions before, and I do have community input. Of particular Melksham interest that have been ...
2012-11-24
 
3904Want to help us improve transport in Wiltshire? Here is how!
Can you identify with any of these questions? Would you like to help to make things better? There's a need for improved co-ordination between transport providers, various user groups, local authorities, special interest groups - and the people who use the services too! As a group which is working ...
2012-11-04
 
3893Public Transport across Wiltshire - a new map
I'm planning for some joined up thinking - thinking about joining up public (and private) transport for joined up - efficient, environmentally friendly, journey to, from, and in Wiltshire. The first map here shows the passenger railway lines of Wiltshire, with stations as solid black dots, and ...
2012-10-20
 
3879Mixed mode travel - Information systems
A document for discussion, with thoughts being put together for what would help us, in Wiltshire, to make better and more educated use of current and future transport systems, for the benefit of ourselves, our business community, our tourist industry, our transport operators, our councils, our quality ...
2012-10-13
(longer)
3877Public Transport Services - from and to Melksham
Listing of public transport services from Melksham, from Calrberry web site Route No.Route DescriptionFrequencyOperatorinfo dated14 Melksham (Town Centre Circular) Mon to Sat (every 30 mins) Frome Sep 2011 37 Melksham to Bradford on Avon (Sainsburys) Mon to Fri (1 trip) Bodmans ...
2012-10-13
(longer)
3866Celebrate! Buses from Meksham to Bath
Bus times from Bowerhill into the centre of Melksham, and on to Bath, changed at the start of September with a new First Bus timetable. It's mostly good news, with the two buses an hour now being more evenly spread, and a late afternoon bus available soon after 5 p.m. Bad news is the loss of Sunday ...
2012-09-22
 
2791Bath to Melksham buses - times
Update - November 2010 - major reorganisation has taken place. First now cut most of their services short at Melksham, with Faresaver extended to Devizes on Monday to Saturday. There are several significant gaps in a previously regular service - see [here] Changed again - September 2012 ... with ...
2012-09-18
 
3850Bus times - Chippenham Station to Melksham, with London connections
Access to Melksham for business visitors from far and wide is vital for our international and thriving business base in the town. And whilst many of those visitors drive, many do not - either they're international visitors who prefer not to drive on the left, or they prefer to use public transport. ...
2012-09-01
 
3849New bus times - Melksham to Bath
As from 2nd September 2012, First are running a new timetable on their routes 271 and 272 between Bath and Melksham (evening and sunday buses carrying on to Devizes and Easterton). The Faresaver service (route X72) remains unaltered to my knowledge. The changes may be summarised as follows: • ...
2012-08-25
 
3699Bristol 50? Bristol 25?
There's an urban area round major cities - a natural commuter area. And these days that natural surround area is regarded as being 50 miles. Indeed, I understand that the government is looking to more local control over public transport - in the style of PTE (Passenger Transport Executives) perhaps ...
2012-04-21
 
3631Getting around Dublin by public transport - some observations
Following on from my recent visit to Cambridge, I'm now in Dublin and making some transport notes. Arriving in Dublin ... via the "Jonathan Swift" - described as the 100 minute fast ferry, but currently taking 150 minutes because of some issues they've been having. It's mostly car passengers, with ...
2012-03-10
 
3579Transport in Cambridgeshire - seen by an outside observer. What can Wiltshire learn?
A week in Cambridge - traveling there, and around when I needed, without a car - and a chance to look, listen and learn a bit more about the wider transport issues of that city. Some may be lessons for us in Wiltshire, others may be items that I simply say "won't work here because of ...". Between ...
2012-01-28
(longest)
3580Melksham Area - buses, trains, cycles, and roads. Meeting, 17.1.2012
This TUESDAY evening ... are YOU available? Melksham Town Hall on Tuesday January 17th at 6.30pm, with refreshments from 6pm. The meeting is free and informal, and open to anyone who would like to contribute or simply listen. If you need a lift home after the meeting, let me know - I'm aware that the ...
2012-01-28
 
3564I wish I was not a special case
On 18th January, I'm going to an evening meeting about rail services in the old West Wilts area - the towns of Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham, Warminster and Westbury, And being a meeting about railways, it's located convenient to one of the stations - Warminster - and the invite includes a ...
2011-12-31
 
3523When competition is not a good idea - Melksham Bus Absurdity
I'm usually all for businesses competing with each other in the market place. But where they're competing in certain industries - for example the travel industry to get people between two different market places - it doesn't always work in the customer's interest. And what a graphic illustration we ...
2011-11-27
 
3504Coaches from Trowbridge and Melksham to London
Daily except 25th and 26th December and 1st January, a National Express Coach runs from Trowbridge, Melksham and Sells Green to Heathrow and London (Victoria), though looking at the timetable published online by National Express, you would think it ran non-stop from Frome to Devizes - see [here]. Here ...
2011-11-02
 
3487Public transport - road and rail
Following on from some of our resource re-indexing .... the pictures above are those that I'm using on the public transport (Rail) page and on the public Transport (Road) page. ...
2011-10-19
 
3486How important is public transport to people in the Melksham area?
The "Wiltshire Intelligence Network" (based at County Hall, Trowbridge), ran a "Sense of Place" survey in 2008 asking people about there local areas, at the time the Wiltshire was going Unitary and the area boards were being set up. You can find a link to the surveys, area by area, [here] Question ...
2011-10-19
 
3471Vintage Bus Running Day in Warminster. An example of good bus practise.
Today was Vintage Bus Running Day in Warminster ... with buses up to 70 years old running an intensive service around the town and surrounding villages, and crowds of people riding on them too. Really good to see all these old vehicles in action! If Warminster can stage an event to pull people into ...
2011-10-09
 
3404Buses on the Cambridge Guided Busway
The long awaited Cambridge Guided Busway opened on 7th August, and a training course I'm giving nearby brought me close to its northern section yesterday. Although I may have questioned the choice of a guided busway over other options along the corridor, and worried about the delays and budget overruns ...
2011-08-24
 
3301Using public transport - USA style
We're currently in the USA - the land of the automobile - but we don't have a car, and we're making uses of buses - "shuttles" to get around between the various places we're visiting. Illustration - Lisa (my wife, for anyone who's new to this blog) and Zyliana (our Amercan grandaughter) await the bus ...
2011-05-25
 
3290Changes (and no changes) at Melksham bus stops
I'm delighted to see a new bus stop - and with a half hourly service by the "town bus" - route 14 - at the south (Snowberry Lane) end of the new East Melksham Development. Good news - for the time to provide the new bus service is at the time that new people are moving to Melksham - before they find ...
2011-05-15
 
3194Buses - what they cost and their future direction in the SW and in Wiltshire
Some interesting figures from a bus operator - the Go-Ahead group - telling us where their income comes from. This is NOT a company that serves Melksham (their nearest company to us is Wilts and Dorset, who operate to Devizes from Salisbury). Annual income relating to bus operations: 1.80 billion in ...
2011-03-07
(longer)
3126Car Parking in Melksham - thoughts on the proposed scheme, and wider thoughts too
The local newspaper headlines a rise in parking charges in Melksham from April, and my email contains statements of how charge rises in another town in Wiltshire will kill that town centre, and a degree of disquiet from elsewhere too. I've also been out and about in the town - looking and listening. What ...
2011-01-13
(longest)
2982Travel, Transport and Tourism - A vision for Melksham, 2026
This is a seed document that I've prepared as a pump-priming exercise to help the Community Area Partnership (at the request of the vicechair of the steering group) and other associated organisations think ahead towards what they would like to see in the 2026 area plan. It comes in three main sections: a) ...
2010-10-03
(longest)
2983Strong arm tactics in the bus industry? Poor result for the customer!
It's sometimes frustrating - really frustrating - to start to see something clearly only after the event. Looking back to the bus service changes from Bath through Melksham to Devizes and Easterton of a month ago, I think I'm now seeing more clearly what I think has happened. • A couple of months ...
2010-10-03
 
2958What do these road markings mean? Could Confusion Kill?
Yesterday evening, I attended a wide ranging meeting and I mentioned my concerns at the markings on this footpath when we were talking about small capital highways expenditures; invited by the meeting chair to send a picture, I followed up: "Following on from yesterday evening - here is a picture of ...
2010-09-17
 
2933Bath - Melksham - Devizes buses from September
Update - Friday, 10th September ... An anonymous correspondent writes "Hello ! Just to let you know that Faresaver originally split the X72 Bath- Devizes and the X71 'Lavington loop', partly so as to understand how poorly used the loop is (according to Firstbus). However, after 2 days of operation, it ...
2010-09-11
 
2903Bath to Devizes bus via Melksham - changing again in September
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. An early "alert". I heard a rumor that the 23:08 Bath to Melksham and Devizes bus was to be discontinued ...
2010-08-24
 
1723Bath - Melksham - Devizes. Bus route changes, new timetable
Bus service (route and timetable) between Bath and Melksham Update - August 2010 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. Update - June 2010 - [Current timetable] Bus routes have changed ...
2010-08-24
 
1511Buses from Well House Manor, Melksham, to Bath
Update - August 2010 As from 5th September 2010, there are major changes to the buses from Bath to Melksham, Devizes and beyond. See [here] for updated route diagram and times. If you're staying with us at Well House Manor in Melksham, there's an excellent bus service from right outside the Hotel which ...
2010-08-24
 
2919London to Calne, Corsham, Melksham, Bradford-on-Avon, Chippenham by public Transport
Headlines ... * National Express have suspended services to Box and Corsham for August. * National Express have introduced a new daily Calne to London service. * First Great Western will introduce through Bradford-on-Avon to London trains, 12/2010 * In spite of the Network Rail report recommending an ...
2010-08-20
 
2515Why we have two buses an hour - but not a half hourly service
A problem We have two buses an hour to Bath. But that's not a half hourly service - they run within a few minutes of each other and then leave a gap that's little short of an hour. On the return from Bath, the two buses are scheduled to leave two minutes apart, and most of the day they're just a ...
2010-07-16
(longer)
2857Park and Ride at Batheaston - will it solve Wiltshires Ills?
What's the point of having a Park and Ride on the outskirts or a large town of city? I hadn't really given it too much thought until today, when I visited the West of England Partnership and listened to their Joint Local Transport Plan 3 presentation. They look after North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, ...
2010-07-07
 
2789Melksham to London (Heathrow, and Central London)
Melksham to London Coach Service There's a daily coach service from Melksham to London and if you're going to Heathrow Airport at about the time it runs (or if you're coming from Heathrow) it's the most practical way to make the journey. From London Victoria 18:00 From London Heathrow 18:45 Arrive ...
2010-06-02
 
2771Melksham to Calne by public transport
It's just seven miles from Melksham (pop 25,000) to Calne(pop 15,000) - and the two towns are both part of the Wiltshire Unitary area, with a lot in common. The road between them - the A3102 - always seems busy. The Problem You would think that there would be a bus service that let you get between ...
2010-05-22
 
2672Dear Planners, please provide viable alternatives
I have a meeting at Melksham Police Station this evening (of the Community Area Partnership - not on police business!) - from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Melksham Police Station is about a mile and a half from home - outside the town on the old Semington Road. How can I get there? I could drive. I've been there ...
2010-03-11
 
2662Is Melksham public transport actually used?
'''There never seems to be anybody waiting at the bus stop behind my house when I look out there - so I ask "why have it ... why run the buses that call there?" ''' - comment made to me by a local councilor, who's not a user of local or regional public transport Here are two similar views of a public ...
2010-03-08
 
2533Five guests, three groups, one car
Five people staying with us ... in three groups ... with one car between them in the car park. That's a statistic I noticed last week at our five room hotel here in Melksham - and it struck me "what a sensible balance". Two of the guests had arrived in the car, two by airport taxi from Heathrow, and ...
2009-12-12
 
2522Integrated public Transport - what could be done for Melksham
Connections between trains and buses at Melksham station do not exist at present - each mode of transport carefully ignores the other even though most of the services are provided by the same public transport provider. The 271/272/273 to Bath stops near Avonside, then runs non-stop past the station ...
2009-12-09
 
2431Moving busstop!
It can't have been more that a year ago that a new bus stop was provided for us at "The Spa" ... or rather a new bus shelter and some nice, slip proof kerbstones; the bus stop had been there when we moved to Melksham in 1999 and probably for many years prior to that. Imagine my surprise, then, to find ...
2009-10-03
 
2372Public Transport from (and to) Melksham on Sundays
I walked into the Town Centre in Melksham at around 9 O'clock this morning - a bright sunny morning and it was (as you would expect) quietish, but it certainly wasn't deadly quiet. A young gentlemen approach me, asking me for directions to the train station. If someone asks me for directions, I'll ...
2009-08-23
 
2328Melksham - no trains, no southbound buses through the town
There have been NO TRAINS AT ALL to Melksham for a week. And the town centre is closed to southbound traffic, sending the buses around the bypass, and the local "we know where to go" vehicles around the suburban streets. All of which does precious little immediate good for the businesses. When Bath ...
2009-08-08
 
2268Westbury Bypass Refused - looking forward
The report of The Public Enquiry into the proposed Westbury Bypass was published a couple of days ago, together with the Secretary of State's decision based on that report. As someone who attended the enquiry briefly and made a statement, I have received a copy of the various papers from the Department ...
2009-07-04
 
2083Do you support a decent train service? Please sign up!
Click on image to add your support or here to learn more first Public transport across Wiltshire is truly appalling - after the 06:15 train from Swindon to Salisbury, there isn't another until 18:45, and if you catch the bus or make a dogleg train journey via Bath or via Reading (the two routes offered) ...
2009-03-15
 
2075Supporting Parkinsons and Trains
Duncan Hames, our "Lib-Dem" candidate for the new Chippenham / Melksham / Bradford-on-Avon seat at the next election, is a keen supporter of our campaign to provide an appropriate train service across Wiltshire ... he's pictured here at the station the other week. And he's braver than me - he's running ...
2009-03-11
 
1315Two years of campaigning for a train service
It's two years ago this month that I saw a letter in the local paper suggesting that the train service across Wiltshire was to be withdrawn at the end of December 2006 ... and felt (as a user of the service, and someone who's job heavily depended on other people arriving on it) that I should take a ...
2008-10-11
(longest)
1777The Rise and Rise of First Bus Fares
Firsts Bristol [zone] bus fares went up earlier this year. And I understand they're going up again next Monday. But that's all right, isn't it, because it's a commercial market and they can't price themselves out of the market? Well - no - it's NOT all right; it's no longer really a commercial market. ...
2008-09-04
 
1668Talk on TransWilts train service to Green Party
This morning, I gave a talk on the "TransWilts" train service - the loss of most trains in 2006 and the campaign for the return of something more appropriate - to the Green Party's Regional meeting in Trowbridge. Here's my presentation, which I'll admit to writing in the few hours ahead of the talk! Intro This ...
2008-06-10
(longer)
1567Melksham - Swindon. Train v Bus v Car
I'm going to an event called "Social Enterprise and the railways" tomorrow - and I'm Driving there - to Swindon. How silly can you get! But it's a case of the head ruling the heart. I could have left on the direct train at 19:50 tonight. I could catch the hourly bus to Chippenham then the hourly ...
2008-03-10
 
1560HST Power Car TravelWatch SouthWest
Today, I had a chance to listen to Andrew Haines - CEO of First Great Western, and the man who has been given the task of turning certain aspects of the company - which is currently something of an embarrassment to the "First" brand - around. You'll find me writing more seriously about what he had to ...
2008-03-04
 
1428Travel Across Wiltshire - the game
What better way to learn about efficient public transport than to play a game to get you around from one place to another? And what better way to generate a new Tk canvas example, and a new PHP page too, than to prepare such a game on our web site. The board looks like this: If you select this link ...
2007-11-13
 
1254Comparing bus stops
Between our home and hotel - in just that short distance of a few hudred yards - there are four bus stops. One doesn't have a shelter, two have shelters enclosed on two sides, and one has a shelter enclosed on three sided. Guess which one has a new sign? Yes - it's the one enclosed on 3 sides that ...
2007-07-06
 
1125Train service - petititon reply
Yesterday evening, I received a reply to my petition for the provision of an appropriate train service on local and regional routes in our part of the country. You recently signed a petition asking the Prime Minister to: "provide a reliable train service with adequate capacity at times that travellers ...
2007-03-31
 
1085Lawrence Webb's Melksham Taxi service
Course delegates have arrived by car, by taxi, by train, by bus, by motorcycle, by coach, by pushbike and on foot. We're just waiting for a delegate to come by boat and moor up on the Kennet and Avon Canal that's about 2 miles from us. Lawrence Webb (01225 706805) collect delagates from last week's ...
2007-02-20
 
474Vintage Bus Day
Today was Vintage bus day in Warminster ... there must have been some 50 buses dating back as far as 1947 running the old routes between Warminster and Bath, Warminster and Salibbury, Warminster and Frome, and the villages in between, Here, pictured at Horningsham, just behind the Longleat Estate, is ...
2006-08-28
 
818Heard, yes. Considered, no. The case for the train.
Last Friday brought the publication of the 'final' timetable for trains through Melksham from December 2006. Regular readers to this column will know that I've been hosting a web site to retain the service at its current level (5 each way daily) or, better, to improve it to 8 a day. But the threat ...
2006-07-31
 
764Journey planning - Xephos v Transport Direct
I looked up a journey from Melksham to Liverpool (I just entered "Melksham" and "Liverpool" without being any more specific) on the Transport Direct Web site yesterday ... and here's the start of what it suggested ... It's very easy for travel sites to make silly suggestions that don't appear to be ...
2006-06-16
 
119PHP course. Come by train.
In a couple of days time, trains will be stopping at Melksham Station throughout the day once again. As from next week's PHP Course we'll be able to resume meeting students off the 09:11 arrival. Please let us know ahead of time if you wish to use this service, for which we make no charge. For the past ...
2006-06-05
 
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