A GOVERNMENT-level meeting with First Bus has been set up by West Somerset MP Rachel Gilmour as she battles for improvements with the No 28 Minehead to Taunton service.

Mrs Gilmour demanded action during a Public Accounts Committee meeting on local bus services in England.

She pressed director general for public transport Conrad Bailey to meet First Bus chief executive Janette Bell to discuss concerns about the No 28 bus and also the No 25 service via Wiveliscombe to Dulverton.

Mrs Gilmour said her office had been ‘inundated’ by constituents complaining they were frequently let down by the 28 bus with overcrowding leaving them unable to use services at peak hours on Mondays and Fridays.

The top-level meeting then took place on Friday (July 18), but Mrs Gilmour was this week still waiting to learn the outcome.

The meeting took place as First Bus announced ‘timetable changes’ on the No 28 and 25 routes would be introduced from August 31 to ‘help improve punctuality and make journeys more reliable for passengers’.

But there was further controversy when it was realised the changes included axing the direct connection between the West Somerset Railway and Taunton after 20 years.

The No 28 bus will no longer stop outside the railway’s Bishops Lydeard station but will drop-off and pick-up from the village’s Lethbridge Arms public house – leaving passengers with a three-quarters-of-a-mile walk via a subway under the main A358 road.

Somerset Bus Partnership spokesperson David Redgewell said: “That represents a 10 to 15-minute journey for those with reduced mobility, partially-sighted passengers, and wheelchairs users, via and across the A358.”

First Bus said the railway station was being dropped temporarily from its winter timetable because of low passenger numbers, with only 333 people using it since April 1.

It said the evening 28A services had been re-timed to connect with Great Western Railway mainline trains between Taunton and London.

First Bus commercial director James Eustace said: “We are committed to delivering a bus network that people can depend on in Somerset.

“These changes are about making sure our services run more reliably and reflect the needs of our passengers.”

The No 25 bus will see mid-route timing adjustments in Milverton to improve overall timekeeping and service reliability.

Mrs Gilmour is continuing also to call for a meeting with both First Bus and management of Butlin’s Minehead holiday resort to work on a resolution to the No 28 overcrowding issues.

She said: “The 28 bus service between Minehead and Taunton is unreliable, overcrowded, and simply not fit for purpose.

“I have requested urgent meetings with both First Bus and Butlin’s to discuss overcrowding and delay issues, as constituents have told me time and time again that this service is not serving them as it should.

“By raising my concerns in the Public Accounts Committee, the Department for Transport can be in no doubt of the urgent need to improve the transport services in Minehead.

“I will continue to fight for improvements to the 28 service and other routes across our constituency.”