Reasoned Justification for Policy Ten

114 Shepton Mallet bus services are covered by three main bus operators First Group, Southwest Coaches and Frome Bus. Mendip Community Transport provide subsidised dial a ride and pre- bookable hire services for older and more vulnerable travelers locally. There are some services that travel further afield such at National Express, Berry Coaches and Superfast 3. 

115 Use of public transport provides access to larger towns and cities such Bath, Bristol and Weston-Super Mare. Some routes are indirect and require changes to a second service along the route.

116 Table below gives a summary of the bus services to and from Shepton Mallet revealing a mixed picture of services to local service centres of Wells, Frome, Castle Cary and Glastonbury with a direct route to Bath taking an hour.

117 These are essential services for the town and need to be retained for access to school, services, employment, and tourism. 

118 It is therefore important that all efforts are made to support the existing bus services but also to ensure that this does not result in increased fares. This can be effectively achieved by increasing patronage through improvements to information, such as real-time passenger information at bus stops. 

119 Developer contributions from development can be used to contribute towards addressing these issues either through a 106 agreement or through contributions secured through CIL 

The bus routes and times change frequently.  This table was correct at the time of writing: March 2023