Could anyone here update me on the number 70 bus service? Is it going to continue? If not do we not at least deserve a replacement? Not everyone can drive (myself being one) and the need to visit Swindon for many services is real. Marlborough has no NHS Dentist as well as the hospital being located there...how are we expected to manage? Also if anyone can point out to me exactly where the petition to save the service is located I and a lot of my friends want to sign it. Marlborough has a reputation for catering to only those with money and with the loss of such a basic service it is becoming even more so.
Sorry Lillith but I do not know what the final fate of the Swindon bus service is to be but the "reassuring" statements issued by the politicians did not fill me with too much hope.
Your general concern about Marlborough's public transport and your statement "Marlborough has a reputation for catering to only those with money" immediately reminded me of KVAT and the statement made on the Riverbank Theatre's web site -
Marlborough has"....public transport links with the nearby towns of Swindon, Calne, Chippenham, Hungerford, Newbury, Devizes and Salisbury [which] are excellent."
Now there is another thread on this site about this project but out of curiosity I went onto the Traveline South West web site to see just how excellent Marlborough's transport links with the above places actually is.
The table shows the last direct bus from Marlborough to the above places. What it clearly shows is that only people from Swindon could possibly use public transport to visit an evening performance at the Riverbank - but now even that service is under review!
When will the politicians - and KVAT - accept that Marlborough does NOT have good public transport links and that the feasibility of the Riverbank Theatre as a viable venue for the Kennet area should be reviewed.
For Lillith and the people of Marlborough the table is indicative of how poorly served the town is by public transport. Unless you have a car the only place you can go to in the evening (for the moment) is - Swindon
Please note that www.traveline.org.uk is not the slickest site to use and does not seem to indicate services which only operate during term time. If anyone has more accurate information I will update the table. I would even include indirect services if they are feasible (i.e. do not add more than 15 minutes to the direct service times) Perhaps someone could do the reverse and build a table which shows the time of the last direct bus from these places to Marlborough.
I can personally vouch for how needed the Hospital bus is when I was in that dirty useless hospital known as GWH it was the only way my wife could get in and back home at night
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I'm a Dyslexic Agnostic Insomniac...
I sit up all night wondering if there really is a Dog
Just to bring you up to date on the number 70 bus ......
Stagecoach now say that due to increased funding from Wiltshire County Council the number 70 bus is safe for the time being.
They say that around the end of August they will be making further decisions about the service but that it is now extremely unlikely that the service will be cut altogether.
So ...... expect cuts in the service for September unless people lobby Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire County Council and also the bus companies to ensure that any services they provide are spread sensibly and evenly across the day.
Without this service not only will many people not be able to travel to visit relatives in hospital, but also it will increase the call made on hospital transport (already overstretched) and voluntary organisations as well as fly in the face of any government green transport policy.
