8 June 2009

Bakers Dolphin Invest In Rural Bus Service

A rural bus service linking communities on the Mendips has been saved with award-winning coach operator Bakers Dolphin taking on the route.

The Weston-super-Mare based operator has invested in a brand new low floor, Mercedes minibus to operate service 668 after winning a tender from Somerset county council.

The new vehicle also offers wheelchair access, via an integrated ramp for disabled passengers, ensuring that all parts of the community can benefit from the service.

Service 668 links Street, Glastonbury, Meare, Westhay, Wedmore, Cocklake, Shipham, Churchill and Lower Langford.

Max Fletcher, operations director of Bakers Dolphin, said: “We realise how important these links are for the communities on the Mendips and that is why we are investing in a brand new minibus so that people travel in a reliable and comfortable vehicle. Too often rural bus routes are the forgotten services with old vehicles used.

“The service will operate Monday to Saturday and the timetable is slightly different to the old 668 service so passengers should check their time of travel. At peak times the service will link in to buses for Bristol from Lower Langford.”

Last month Bakers Dolphin was named Operator of the Year in the Coach Tourism Awards 2009. Many people in the Mendip area book holidays and excursions with the firm, which offers home pick ups to link in with its coach tours in the UK and abroad.

Bakers Dolphin started life in the 19th Century and has connections to the Mendips going back to the early 19th century when it tendered for - and won - Royal Mail contracts to deliver the post to the Cheddar Valley by horse-and-cab from Weston-super-Mare on a twice daily basis. The coachmen frequently carried firearms for fear of being robbed.