Town centre bus route 30 to end this month; council is hopeful new operator can be found

ROUTE 30, a popular bus service in Frome, is finishing  later this month which has brought protests from local users.

The service is run by FromeBus links the town centre with the Keyford, Berkley Down and Fromefield areas of town. It will finish on Saturday 20th August.

But Somerset County Council say they are looking for a new operator, have funding for the service in the short term and hope there will be no loss of service.

“This is going to be a complete disaster for many people in Frome, that includes myself,” said one local user, John Rees.

“I`m approaching 72 years old now and I struggle to walk far these days. I have used this service in one shape or another for the last 38 years when I moved to Frome.

“How on earth the people who live on the other side of Frome are going to manage, God only knows.   Somerset County Council and FromeBus Limited needs to do something about this serious situation quickly in order to put many people’s, young and old, minds at rest.

“Taxis are not a cheap option and, in many cases, are not even an option to consider on the grounds of cost. We need this service in order to go down town to get our shopping, as I do twice a week.

“Surely this No 30 bus route, if need be, could be reduced to say three days a week instead of cutting it out completely.”

Short term funding in place 

After being contacted by Frome Times, Somerset County Council issued the following statement, “We are currently looking for an alternative operator for this service which we have funding for in the short term.

“The plan is to ensure it is restored seamlessly from Monday 22 August so there is no loss of service. In the longer term we will need to identify further funding in order to continue providing the service.

FromeBus Limited says it has approached Somerset County Council to discuss arrangements to fill the gap that will be left by route 30.

In a statement to Frome Times, the company said, “We took over operating route 30 seven years ago, following First Group’s decision to withdraw the service. Since then, we have operated the route reliably until recently, when, as a result of an industry-wide shortage of drivers, it has become increasingly difficult to find enough staff to maintain proper schedules.

“Unfortunately, this situation doesn’t look like improving in the short to medium term, so to avoid being in the position of providing a patchy, unreliable service; we have taken the decision to give notice to terminate the route, with the final day being Saturday 20th August 2022.

“In the meantime, we have approached Somerset County Council and are currently discussing possible arrangements to plug the gap following the cancellation of route 30.”