Wivey-Welly Bus User Group

CAG recently welcomed the first transport campaigning members and we are delighted to share the following message from them and their future plans.

”The Wivey-Welly Bus User Group is delighted to have joined CAG, the first transport group to do so.  We are a campaigning group, putting our energies into improving and promoting bus services in our area. We believe that a good, reliable and sustainable public transport system is vitally important. So many services, particularly those in rural areas have been lost since bus de-regulation in the 1980s. A decent bus service can connect communities, allow access to essential services, employment, leisure activities, and education; it can allow people to lead more fulfilling lives, contributing to their health, happiness and wellbeing. Bus services need to be reliable, frequent and fit for purpose if they are to reduce car dependency and benefit the environment.

In 2023 members of our group began campaigning for a return of a much loved bus service between Wellington and Wiveliscombe, the service having been axed nearly ten years earlier. We conducted surveys locally to gauge support for a resumption of the service and encountered a positive and enthusiastic response. We issued press statements and gained support from the Somerset Bus Partnership, County Councillors, Parish Councillors, Unite Community and the Local Community Network. A petition to restore the route gained more than 1300 signatures and was presented at a full meeting of Somerset Council in December 2024.

In April 2025 Somerset Council agreed to use some of the government grant money it had received to run a service on a trial basis from Wiveliscombe to West Buckland, travelling via Milverton, Langford Budville and Wellington. In September 2025 the service was extended to include a stop at Langley Corner. The service has been well received by our bus users and they have told us how much they enjoy the journey – on the bus there is a real sense of community, people chat to one another and the regular friendly bus drivers make everyone feel welcome.

Most evening bus services in Somerset were withdrawn about 15 years ago. Several were reintroduced in 2023 using Government grants but there are currently no evening services for Wiveliscombe and Milverton. We are conducting a survey to investigate the level of support for a resumption of these services; the survey can be accessed online at: https://forms.gle/TdbPvS2epKZTvBVS7             

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552786522173

Email: wiveywellybusgroup@gmail.com