Somerset Council to subsidise bus services until spring

Four bus services will be financially supported by a council to safeguard their future until spring.

Somerset Council is stepping in to ensure bus services in the county with low passenger numbers can continue until the end of March.

Services which will be subsidised include the 54, 58 and 58a, 25 and 28.

The council is getting the funding through the government's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus.

Somerset Council will work with bus operator First South to encourage more passengers to use the routes, as part of its ongoing Bus It campaign - with the aim of making the routes financially viable.

First South has indicated it will review the routes later in the year, taking into account new data on passenger uptake.

Councillor Mike Rigby, Somerset Council's lead member for transport, said: "All these routes link key towns and many village communities in between, but simply not enough people are using them.

"Unless more people bus it, it is unlikely any commercial operator will be able to run these services without subsidy.

"The unfortunate reality is in the current financial climate the council will not be able to subsidise them indefinitely and that inevitably means people need to use their buses or lose them.

"We've shown we can get more people onto buses on key routes if we get the message out there, and that is what we will continue to do."

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