Goodbye Wigglybus - Hello Wigglybus Social Enterprise!

Despite community opposition, Wiltshire County Council have scrapped the name "Wigglybus" and replaced it with "Connect2Wiltshire". They have also changed Pewsey Vale services and switched Mere from a bus to a taxi, getting rid of the existing, much respected drivers. Big thanks to Ron and Peter from all of us.

The new community company had been operating Mere and put in the lowest tender for a new service covering the RUH at Bath and Mere. Despite this, the Council gave the contract to a taxi company. They also decided not to work with the community company in Pewsey and Calne. Both decisions are now the subject of a formal complaint. We wish to make it clear that no action has been taken by the Wigglybus Company which would disrupt the service - the Council seems to be able to do that without us! (See the complaint in the Gazette and Herald - click here).

Having recovered from the shock of our treatment from Wiltshire, we have decided to carry on working to improve local transport and we are making plans to fill in the gaps left by the recent decisions.

Watch this space!!

News Archive 2006-7

Community Company formed and bids to run Mere Wigglybus!

Click here for more details

What is the future for the Wigglybus?

Wiltshire County Council has called in Loughborough University to look at how the Wigglybus (and other flexible transport) is operating and what to do when its current funding from central Government ends in 2007. Preliminary findings were with the Council in June 2006 and the report has now been published. This should at last begin the debate about the long term future for the Wigglybus, now six years old in the Vale of Pewsey, with services opened in Calne and most recently in Mere. One aspect for their study is the possibility of the community taking a leading role in running the Wigglybus and putting any profit back into the service (see below).

Travel Club goes in fares shake up!

Wiltshire County Council has closed the Travel Club and replaced it with a new 50% discount card costing £60. Options to continue the Club produced for the Review (see News Archive below) were rejected.

It is not all fare increases however! From April this year everyone living in Wiltshire who is over 60 will be entitled to free bus travel as a result of the last Budget. This will include the Wigglybus.

Wiltshire have now taken over any outstanding memberships so please contact Tim Reynolds on 01225 713371 if you have any queries.

We would like to thank all of our members for their terrific support during the project and new ways of becoming involved are now being considered - see next item!

Getting the Community on board

As well as getting rid of the Travel Club, the previous management arrangements have changed, with Wiltshire taking a stronger role. MTRU are no longer general advisers to the project but run this website and participate in specific new initiatives.

One of these is to explore how the community can become more involved in running the Wigglybus, possibly setting up an independent community company. Community members and MTRU are working with Co-Operative Futures, based in Wootton Bassett, to see how this could be achieved.

In addition to this the previous local management groups have been replaced by a new Advisory Panel which meets quarterly. Local areas have formed their own community marketing groups and these will be fully operational soon. Meanwhile if you are interested in joining us, please contact info@wigglybus.org.uk.

New fares and timetable

The Saturday Bedwyn train link service has been dropped but there are new services in the Kennet Valley on Sunday which mean it is possible to make the journey then. Ring the call centre: 01249 460600 and they can tell you about the new services. New fares have been published for the Vale click here for details.

Wigglybus News from 2004

Where next for the Travel Club?

The Travel Club has been part of the Wigglybus service since it began, providing individualised pick up points and cheap fares - part of the aim of matching the convenience and low cost per journey of the car. It has also provided a unique way of keeping in touch with regular users including a free newsletter. Many of the members have responded to our requests for information on how the service is doing and suggestions to improve it. THANK YOU ALL!

After five years, there have been many changes which affect how well the Travel Club achieves its aims and Wiltshire County Council have initiated a Review by the project's adviser which is taking place this summer. This will look at the original objectives of the Club, its strengths and weaknesses, the costs and income, and whether it needs to be changed or absorbed into other initiatives. As soon as the Review is complete, a range of options will be produced for everyone to have their say. No decisions will be made until that process is complete. Meanwhile the key community and user groups in the area are being contacted for their input. We should be contacting all the members again in the Autumn. If you already have any thoughts about the Club and how it operates please let us know - you can use the freepost address:

Wigglybus Travel Club
Freepost SCE 8582
London W4 2BR

Travel Wisely - Use the Wigglybus!

WILTSHIRE'S Wigglybus has been given a makeover - thanks to ten-year-old
Natasha Hall.

As part of a competition run with the kind help of the Wiltshire Gazette and
Herald, Natasha has designed a new environmentally-friendly livery for the
Wigglybus.

The bus has now been repainted (thanks to Hatts Coaches) and can be seen on
journeys in the Pewsey Vale and Calne areas from the end of March.

Natasha, a pupil at All Cannings Primary School near Devizes, entered a
competition run by Wiltshire County Council's Travelwise and passenger
transport units.

The idea behind the competition was to design a livery with an environmental
message that would encourage more people to switch from using their cars to
public transport.

Natasha's colourful design features a rural setting and the slogan 'Protect
the environment for all of us, leave your car and take the bus!'

The competition - which ran in the Gazette and Herald newspaper - attracted
hundreds of entries from schools across North Wiltshire and Kennet, the
areas where the Wigglybus operates.

Judging - which took place at Kennet District Council's offices - was by
panel that included representatives of the county council, Hatts Coaches,
Calne Area Transport and PVTAG (Wiltshire County Council's community partner for the Wigglybus), Kennet Passengers, and Devizes mayor Paula Winchcombe.

Natasha won a three-month family cinema pass for the Palace Cinema in
Devizes and a class trip to Legoland, near Windsor.

A presentation of prizes and launch of the repainted Wigglybus was held
at All Cannings School on Wednesday, March 24th.

Bidding for a long term future

The Wigglybus is still expanding and changing and in order to complete its development the Wigglybus partners in Calne and the Vale submitted a bid to the Government's Rural Bus Challenge Fund for support until March 2007.

The original bid was for well over a million pounds and involved large scale expansion following on from the introduction of revised services in the Pewsey Vale (February) and new services in Calne (April). Although the amount awarded was slightly lower than this, at £978,450 it is still a significant amount! This should allow most of the service developments which were being planned to go ahead, but the trial SMS texting of bus arrival times to passengers will have to wait. Planning is going ahead for services around Mere which could be running later this year.

Plans to integrate the Calne service more closely with other local bus services will also go ahead, and community and user participation will be key to this. The Wigglybus has an active partner in the form of the Calne Community Area Transport group, known as Calne CAT (see below).

A key issue in developing the bid was to allow for the existing services to settle down and be revised in the light of everyone’s comments. This takes time and we welcome the support from the Rural Challenge Fund. Both Kennet District and Wiltshire County Council have confirmed and raised their contribution so we can now move forward. We look forward to hearing everyone's views on the next steps!

Meanwhile the latest figures show strong growth in passenger numbers: up to around 6,000 a month in September and maintaining this level through to December (see our research page for more details).

Now for a Wigglyboat?

This was the scene at Pewsey Wharf on 6th September at the boat carnival and procession. Over 40 boats took part in a daytime and then an illuminated evening cruise past the appreciative onlookers. The Wigglybus was present in force, adding to the fun but also advertising the new easier links to and from the Wharf from Pewsey. The boat carnival will be an annual event from now on - proceeds this year support reopening the Wilts and Berks canal. Rumours of a new Wigglyboat service were vigorously denied!

Name that bus!

The aptly named Jessica Wriggley is a fan of the Wigglybus and we could not resist naming one of our buses after her. Here she is on the naming day. The other buses have been named after a competition, with two of the winning names chosen at the West Wilts Show, and the Calne bus named by a local Calne resident. The full list of names is: Bluebell Jasmine Poppy Eddy Hannah Becky Jessica also features on the new Vale leaflets - contact Tim if you need a copy. Tel: 01225 713371 email: timreynolds@wiltshire.gov.uk

News from Calne

By now people will be used to seeing the Wigglybus running around Calne, the lanes to the villages and up and down the A4. Calne CAT has been carrying out surveys to discover what everyone has to say about the service. The results are very useful.

Happily the majority of the feedback has been positive and supportive. Where it has been critical we will address the problem. Thanks for your help!

Hopefully the Wigglybus will make bus travel much more attractive and accessible. All our Wigglybuses are also able to carry bikes.

New Wigglybus services funded by the Government's Challenge Fund will be coming soon!

Some of the journeys you can already make using the Wigglybus are:
Avebury (and cycle home!)
Calne town centre, then on to Chippenham or Swindon
To and from Heddington.

If you want to know more or have any ideas of your own, Calne CAT would like to hear from you. Please contact:

David Clay: 01249 817016 or write to: Calne CAT PO Box 1529 Calne SN11 0XT

Internet Booking

Yes the Wigglybus is going cyberspace friendly and you should soon be able to book your journey on the Internet! We are working with Mobisoft UK (our booking software suppliers), MessageLink and other local authorities (Hampshire and Maidstone) and are currently testing the system. We do not know how many people will use it, but it could offer low cost and properly confirmed bookings (by email).

We should be on line late in 2004!

Click on the bus to go back to the home page!