Highways - public transport
Providing for public transport to the SGC development is important and we have met with local transport operators to discuss how this can be done.
Preliminary proposals for significantly upgraded and amended bus services south of Frome, incorporating the travel requirements of the SGC scheme are set out in the diagrams above.
Frome Buses operate the local town services and in particular the No. 30 route. Through the SGC development there is an opportunity to extend and increase this service, not only to serve the SGC itself, but to introduce new key destinations (Railway Station, Frome Health Centre, Frome College and Commerce Park) across a far wider part of the town. Through developer funding for the provision of an additional bus, SGC would see the No.30 route increase to a 20 minute frequency.
Additionally, providing an additional bus allows for the route length to be extended and the new key destinations introduced. This will not only meet the needs of SGC but provide for an improved bus service for the wider town.
In addition to town bus routes there is an opportunity to look at amending some of the inter-urban services to also serve SGC and better serve the town.
Currently, these services such as the D2, X34 & X67, operate along inefficient linear routes whereby they terminate and then back-track along the same route that they have just travelled.
Alternatively, these routes could operate on a loop through SGC and a wider part of the town, maximising coverage and patronage. It is expected that these changes will be largely self-funding (viable) through increased passenger numbers.
So as to enable travel times for buses to be comparable or better to car travel across SGC, it is proposed to place a Bus Gate midway between Marston Road and the development’s central hub.
The bus gate will make this route only available for bus passengers, cyclists and pedestrians, making their travel times quicker than by car, as well as removing through traffic.
Proposed Bus Improvements Plan
