| The Buses of Somerset | |
| Parent: | First South West |
| Founded: | 2014 |
| Service Area: | SomersetDevonDorset |
| Service Type: | Bus services |
| Depots: | 2 |
| Ceo: | Alex Carter |
| Website: | busesofsomerset.co.uk |
The Buses of Somerset[1] is the trading name used by bus operator First South West for services operated in Somerset from its depot in the town of Taunton since 2014. The services were formerly managed as part of First Somerset & Avon.
Southern National was formed in 1983 as the Somerset and Dorset operations of Western National (then part of the National Bus Company). It was privatised in 1988,[2] acquired by FirstGroup in 1999 and rebranded as First Southern National. In 2003 the Somerset operations of First Southern National were merged into First Somerset & Avon. In 2014 the services were relaunched as 'The Buses of Somerset'.[3]
The new brand identity and livery is the first major departure from the FirstGroup corporate identity and livery which was previously applied almost universally across the group's bus operations. The business instead now uses a two tone green and cream livery with bespoke branding, website and social media profiles.[3] [4] Buses allocated to Taunton town services were branded 'The Buses of Taunton' but using the same livery as other buses in the fleet.
The livery was revised from 2020 with different shade of green and changed logos. Taunton town services now have a different arrangement of the two green colours and are branded 'Taunton's town buses'. Certain routes have specially branded buses including Taunton Park and Ride (orange and purple), Quantock Line (route 28; brown and cream), Burnham-on-Sea to Taunton (route 21; blue) and Exmoor Coaster (blue).
The Buses of Somerset initially operated from two depots in Taunton and Bridgwater along with an outstation in Minehead.[5] Yeovil was added in 2016, having previously been part of First Hampshire & Dorset.
The Bridgwater depot closed at the end of 2 September 2023 when crews and vehicles were transferred to the other depots.[6]
After attempts to sell the Yeovil site failed, FirstBus suggested in 2023 that it would demolish it instead. The number of buses operating from Yeovil had reduced from 43 to 9 because some routes had been transferred to First West of England depots.[7]
The Buses of Somerset routes link Taunton, Bridgwater, Yeovil and other major towns: