Bridgwater Town Council’s ambition to establish a municipal bus operator is dependent on Somerset Council progressing pre-feasibility work, after the latter local transport authority (LTA) confirmed it has applied for government funding to examine the proposal.
Documents published by Bridgwater and released under the Freedom of Information Act show the town wants to position itself as a pilot location for a publicly owned bus company following legislative changes that permit the creation of new municipal operators.
The ultimate aim is “to provide a full, radically improved Somerset bus network of urban, interurban and rural services alike” within the existing supported bus budget of £2.3 million per annum.
The Bridgwater report frames the municipal operator as both a local service intervention and as a “political hook” for a wider Somerset franchising proposal.
It argues that the closure of First Bus’s Bridgwater depot in 2023 has increased the cost of supported services because vehicles must be brought in from depots outside the town. The proposed municipal would instead use an expanded Somerset Council in-house fleet depot at Saltlands.
The report envisages a substantially enhanced local network in Bridgwater under a municipal bus operator, including 15-minute frequencies from Bridgwater town centre, bus station and railway station to the planned gigafactory and Woolavington West housing estate via services B1/B2/14.
It also proposes a 15-minute daytime service on B6/B7 to Sydenham, Kings Down and Bridgwater Community Hospital; half-hourly links to Newtown and Willstock; and a 30-minute Service 21/21A between Burnham-on-Sea, Bridgwater and Taunton.
The financial plan gives an annual operating cost of £1.892 million. Existing supported service subsidy is put at £412,000, leaving what the report describes as a £1.48 million Department for Transport (DfT) Rural Bus Franchising Scheme ask “within the first year of Somerset bus franchising”.
A further £1.02 million is proposed for Saltlands depot upgrades and associated set-up costs, giving an indicative total of £2.5 million to DfT.
The report claims that, once established, the network could require only £70,000 per annum in net subsidy based on projected annual patronage of 728,500 passengers and revenue of £1.822 million against costs of £1.892 million.
Somerset Council, as LTA, would take the lead role in any such scheme. Asked for its position, a spokesperson said the proposal is “at the very early stages” but that the authority is “keen to see if it can be progressed, and has applied to government funding to carry out pre-feasibility work.”
The proposal was discussed at Bridgwater Town Council’s Full Council meeting on 7 May, where members agreed to explore the plan.
The council’s public statement says Bridgwater is the only town council in England to have formally expressed interest in hosting a municipal bus pilot, and that it had invited Transport Minister Simon Lightwood MP to hear the case directly.
In a letter dated 24 April, Mr Lightwood told Councillor Mick Lerry that government policy is to give local leaders powers to choose “the model that works best in their area,” including franchising, strengthened Enhanced Partnerships, or local authority-owned bus companies.
He noted Somerset’s interest in the Franchising Support Fund, which can support pre-feasibility or formal franchising assessment work.
Councillor Tim Mander says that the model would allow services to be designed around the people who rely on them, rather than being “constrained by commercial priorities”.
DfT has been approached for comment.
