Stagecoach West is increasing its presence in Swindon on 2 April, two months after Go-Ahead Group acquired Thamesdown Transport from the borough council. Its operations increase by 15%, with 30 additional drivers, engineers and cleaners recruited to start a new route between end points already served by one of Thamesdown’s cross-town routes and increase daytime frequencies on three of its existing services.
New route 3 (Abbey Meads-Great Western Hospital), running between the north and south-west of Swindon via the town centre, will operate up to every 10min in the daytime on Mondays to Saturdays and up to every 20min on Sundays. Thamesdown route 12 operates half-hourly on Mondays to Saturdays between the same end points.
Stagecoach says its service will offer different connections en route. Frequencies will increase on routes 9 (Swindon Wroughton, currently every 20min), 10 (Freshbrook-Kingsdown via town centre, currently every 10min) and Gold 66 (Swindon-Faringdon-Oxford, every 20 to 30min).
‘This expansion is a sign of our commitment to bus passengers in the area and in the belief that buses will continue to be a hugely important mode of transport in the years to come,’ says Stagecoach West managing director Rupert Cox.
‘We have seen positive growth on our current services and invested significantly in a new bus depot last year. These plans will deliver better connections and greater travel choice for customers and we believe they will help us attract even more people on to our greener, smarter services.’
