Key Bus services in West Dorset are set to be reduced with the introduction of the winter timetables for the X51 and X53 services, due to start on 21 September.
The important Dorchester – Bridport – Axminster axis will suffer some of the most drastic cuts. Just 5 services each way will operate on weekdays between Dorchester and Bridport with the last service departing an hour earlier than now. Only 3 (westbound) and 4 (eastbound) will now run on Saturdays, with none on Sundays.
Services operating from Bridport and Lyme Regis to Axminster have also been reduced, with the new timings providing poorer connections with the rail services towards Exeter.
Students will be particularly badly hit – the only option for those needing to arrive in Exeter by 9am will be to leave Bridport at 05.55. Getting home in the afternoon will be equally difficult – the connection arrives back in Bridport at 19.42 – resulting in close to a 14 hour day.
None of the local Transport Action Groups (TAGs) were formally consulted on these changes. One TAG leader said “These service reductions go against everything that Dorset Council are promoting in their Local Transport Plan (LTP4) which is currently out for Consultation”.
LTP4 is intended to promote “Public transport that is inclusive and accessible” with the objective for West Dorset being to “enhance the frequency and reliability of strategic inter-urban routes, providing better access to employment, education and healthcare.” The Plan also calls for better connectivity between bus and rail.
Another TAG leader commented “This Political decision to reduce bus services on these core routes will only force more people to take to their cars”
This is ludicrous decision making. Why would Dorset Council & Wessex reduce services? I, like so many others, am 100% reliant on public transport. Current services are often unreliable and now even more infrequent – no wonder others don’t use them – and no wonder young people choose to live elsewhere when they leave school/college/uni. This decision once again limits employment opportunities, educational opportunities and recreational opportunities – let alone cutting people off from friends, family and humanity. Dorchester is the county town of Dorset! With even less going for it now. Wake up Dorset Council, your lack of care for public transport is ruining people’s futures.
On Saturdays, the first service from Bridport to Weymouth will be 10.15am, with the last bus back at 6.31pm.
The first bus to Dorchester will be at 11.20am, the last bus back will be 1.53pm.
This service is “part subsidised” by Dorset Council
Dorchester Transport Action Group (DTAG) is a voluntary group of people campaigning to improve transport accessibility in and around Dorchester. There is a similar campaign group covering Bridport and surrounding area. It’s the West Dorset Western Area Transport Action Group. They have a website page but they are developing it. However their home page gives contact details for them. So you could get in touch with them and as someone living in Bridport offer to help with their campaign to improve these bus times. DTAG and the Western Area group are of course working together on this and have already lobbied Dorset Council and the bus company. Here’s their link: https://watag.org.uk/
This is insanity. I live in Bridport, how are our students supposed to get to school or college? It takes them long enough now as it is, for many it will now be impossible and thry will be forced to move elsewhere. Forget shopping in Dorchester or Weymouth at the weekends. Have the council had a backhander from lobbyists promoting car use? The A35 has had a crash on it almost weekly during the summer. Who are the council serving here?
Dorchester Transport Action Group (DTAG) is a voluntary group of people campaigning to improve transport accessibility in and around Dorchester. There is a similar campaign group covering Bridport and surrounding area. It’s the West Dorset Western Area Transport Action Group. They have a website page but they are developing it. However their home page gives contact details for them. So you could get in touch with them and as someone living in Bridport offer to help with their campaign to improve these bus times. DTAG and the Western Area group are of course working together on this and have already lobbied Dorset Council and the bus company. Here’s their link: https://watag.org.uk/
I’m honestly speechless.
I live in Brufport and don’t drive; for me, this means I can’t visit people and places that I want to see. It also means that this might not be a viable option for where I live in the future.
I’m appalled by these changes, and ashamed of whoever thought this was a reasonable adjustment.
This will impact visitors as well as residents, and I’m disgusted and deeply disappointed
Dorchester Transport Action Group (DTAG) is a voluntary group of people campaigning to improve transport accessibility in and around Dorchester. There is a similar campaign group covering Bridport and surrounding area. It’s the West Dorset Western Area Transport Action Group. They have a website page but they are developing it. However their home page gives contact details for them. So you could get in touch with them and as someone living in Bridport offer to help with their campaign to improve these bus times. DTAG and the Western Area group are of course working together on this and have already lobbied Dorset Council and the bus company. Here’s their link: https://watag.org.uk/
How do we petition to reverse this? I have a medical condition which means I can’t drive. I’ve literally just moved to Bridport and rely on these buses to get around. We don’t all have cars or can afford £40 taxi fairs each way. This is madness. It’s our only public transport link out of the town. REVERSE THIS DECISION NOW.
Dorchester Transport Action Group (DTAG) is a voluntary group of people campaigning to improve transport accessibility in and around Dorchester. There is a similar campaign group covering Bridport and surrounding area. It’s the West Dorset Western Area Transport Action Group. They have a website page but they are developing it. However their home page gives contact details for them. So you could get in touch with them and as someone living in Bridport offer to help with their campaign to improve these bus times. DTAG and the Western Area group are of course working together on this and have already lobbied Dorset Council and the bus company. Here’s their link: https://watag.org.uk/
There is public WATAG meeting re Bridport and area transport at Mountfield – 18:30 go along and make your views felt.
Is there a date for this Ann?
We now have a situation where the bus service between Bridport and Beaminster (population around 3,500) is far far better than between Bridport and Dorchester (population around 22,000 and where the major hospital is located.