New bus timetables will be introduced across Somerset from 6th April. These will affect the routes of the D2 and D2X services, although other bus services in Frome will remain unchanged.
D2X
The D2X has been taking a route via Radstock to Bath Bus Station during the closure of the A36. From April, the D2X will return to a more direct route but will not revert to running along the A36 into Bath. The bus will turn off at Woolverton and head to Bath via Norton St Philip and Hinton Charterhouse, then continue down the Wellsway.
First Bus has decided that the D2X will no longer serve the Critchill Estate. Instead, after leaving Sainsbury’s in Frome, the service will go to Frome Marketplace via Marston Road and The Butts. After the marketplace, the D2X will go up North Parade and exit Frome along Fromefield, without passing through Stonebridge.
D2
The D2 will revert to its former route, no longer going to Frome Station. However, it will now link Critchill and Stonebridge on its journey to and from Bath, going via Beckington and Rode before following the new D2X route through Norton St Philip and down the Wellsway into Bath.
Evening services, which are subsidised by Somerset Council through a Government BSIP (Bus Service Improvement Plan) award, will continue. The last D2 bus from Bath to Frome departs at around 23:30 from Monday to Saturday. The D2 Sunday bus service between Frome and Bath will continue to run hourly, with the final service leaving Bath bus station at 19:30.
Peter Travis, of Frome and Villages Bus User Group (FAVBUG), said, “We are disappointed that the D2X no longer serves Frome’s major housing estates, and we have expressed our concerns to First. However, this is a commercial service operated by First Group, and they decide on the route their buses take. The good news is that the D2 once again connects Stonebridge with Sainsbury’s and Critchill with Frome Medical Centre and Frome College. We’re also pleased to see that the late evening and Sunday buses connecting Frome and Bath will continue, thanks to increased government funding.”
Cllr Philip Campagna said, “Any change to Frome’s bus services will cause some disruption, and we know the D2 and D2X services have been affected for some time due to the A36 closure. Hopefully, they will settle into a regular pattern again from April. Thanks, as always, to Peter Travis, Somerset Bus Partnership, and FAVBUG for everything they do in terms of sharing timetables, information, and lobbying on behalf of Frome for better bus services.”
Visit https://bit.ly/first-bus-2025 for further information about the changes to services in Somerset.
Pictured: Peter Travis and Cllr Philip Campagna with the D2x
