First to run park and ride route as trial

First Bus has stepped in to rescue a Bath bus service that was going to be stopped. Wessex Bus’s parent company Rotala announced last month it would shut operations in Bath and Bristol from September for financial reasons. Three services were de-registered, including service 42 which runs from the Odd Down Park and Ride in Bath. Eight of Wessex’s services and some of its staff are to be rescued by Cheltenham and Gloucester Omnibus Company, run by rival operator Stagecoach. But the 42 was not among them. However First West of England, which operates many Bath services has now stepped in. After previously announcing it would replace a Bristol service facing the chop - the 52 - it has also agreed to take on the 42 service. It will run the route as a trial for six months before assessing whether it is financially viable for it to continue. The new 42 will run every half hour from Mondays to Friday, starting September 3. It will not operate at weekends. The route is set to remain the same. The service will depart from Odd Down Park and Ride from 6.35am and run every 30 minutes until 5.45pm. There will then be another service at 6.40pm and an extra one at 7.35pm. Those going from the Royal United Hospital in Bath can start from 7am, and the service will run half-hourly until 6.15pm. There will be a journey at 7.10pm before a last journey at 8.10pm. Meanwhile, 60 of the 200 staff who worked at Wessex’s depots in Keynsham and Avonmouth will be transferred to Stagecoach with the rest facing losing their jobs.