A new bus service is set to launch on Tuesday 21st September operating between Burnham-On-Sea, Brent Knoll, East Brent, Rooksbridge, Tarnock, Cross and Cheddar.
The new service comes after Somerset County Council made a successful bid to the Department for Transport for one-off funding to improve and restore some local bus services in Somerset.
One of the proposals was to restore the link between Burnham-On-Sea and Cheddar which was lost several years ago when the old ‘Route 490’ service was withdrawn.
The new ‘Route 48’ service will operate two days per week – Tuesdays and Fridays – and will provide three return journeys each day using the council’s fleet of minibuses.
A council spokesman says: “We had to put plans on hold during Covid, but with bus services now almost all restored to pre-Covid levels, we are starting to put these services on and I am pleased to advise that the Burnham-On-Sea to Cheddar service, which we have numbered 48, will start on Tuesday 21st September.”
“The funding will support the service for at least 18 months, depending on passenger uptake, and the council is planning to include all the service improvements we are making with this funding in our National Bus Strategy, Bus Service Improvement plan in the hope that we can secure more long term funding and if the service is successful look to increase the days of operation over time.”
Local County Councillor Bob Filmer has welcomed the news, telling Burnham-On-Sea.com: “Since the previous bus routes were cancelled a couple of years ago I have been working with the County to get a bus route back through Brent Knoll, East Brent and others that were left with no service at all.”
“It’s fantastic that we will now have a service between Burnham and Cheddar, initially limited to two days a week, but if it is well used and successful, I hope it may be expanded in due course.”
“It will hopefully help those who do not have their own transport and also allow others to use the bus rather than the car and thereby help the climate too.”
Times for bus service between Burnham and Cheddar
The new Route 48 bus service will operate on Tuesdays and Fridays (excluding any Public Holidays) as follows. Outgoing bus times from Burnham-On-Sea to Cheddar:
Incoming buses to Burnham-On-Sea from Cheddar:Â
