Draft:Taunton’s Park & Ride

Taunton's Park & Ride is the Park & Ride service that operates in and around Taunton. The current operator is Buses of Somerset and use 4 Wright Streetlite DF buses. that are decorated in a two tone purple and orange livery. The current route runs from Taunton Gateway, near Junction 25 of the M5 motorway, through the Ilminster Road Busway, past the Hamilton Road bus depot and into the town centre via East Reach. It then diverts to Musgrove Park Hospital, before ending at Silk Mills near Bishops Hull.

History

On 26th November 2005, Cooks Coaches launched the Taunton Park & Ride service, known as the 'Taunton Flyer'. Cooks Coaches used a fleet of Optare Solo's in an iconic yellow and purple livery. The original service cost £1.50 for a return and ran every 10-12 minutes.

A Cooks Coaches Optare Solo in Taunton.jpg

In May 2007, Stagecoach acquired Cooks Coaches and therefore, took over the 'Taunton Flyer'. The fleet and route continued to stay the same however the badges above the passenger doors on each bus were changed. On 16th November 2009, a second park & ride site was opened, and was known as Taunton Gateway. It is situated off of the M5 at Junction 25.

In March 2010, local bus operator WebberBus won the contract to continue operating the Park & Ride service. The contract began in November 2010 with 8 new Optare Versa's.

Although WebberBus' buses were sleek and smart, their performance according to the council was not, with many complaints of missing buses. As a result of the many complaints, on 17th April 2014 the council temporarily awarded the contract to The Buses of Somerset, until a permanent operator could be found. The original Wright Streetlite DF buses featured a white livery, with green stripes along the side of the bus, however later on in The Buses of Somerset's contract the buses were repainted into a purple and orange two tone livery.

A First Buses of Somerset Wright Streetlite DF in the original FirstBus Taunton Park & Ride livery. jpg

For a time period during COVID the Taunton Gateway Park & Ride closed due to plummeting passenger numbers, however on 2nd November 2020 the park & ride site reopened although the route had to divert in Taunton Town Centre due to the closure of East Street.

On December 6th 2023, as many Somerset based news reports stated, The Buses of Somerset had pulled out of the operation of the Park & Ride as it is apparently 'not viable' even though there had been a rise in passenger numbers. A new operator has been secured, however the council does not want the operator stated