If you’re planning a trip to Bath or live in the city and need to reduce your travel costs, this guide to all the public transport options from Swoop covers everything you need to know!
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Transport Options in Bath.pptx
1. P U B L I C
T R A N S P O R T
O P T I O N S I N B A T H
2. • If you’re planning a trip to Bath or live
in the city and need to reduce your
travel costs, this guide to all the public
transport options from Swoop covers
everything you need to know!
3. Train Services in Bath
• Starting with trains, you’ll find just one train station in the city – Bath Spa.
• The station is close to the city centre. It is possible to walk to attractions such
as the Roman Baths or Bath Abbey and into offices in central Bath, provided
the weather is suitable, and you are comfortable walking.
• You can take a train from Bath to London, Bristol, Cardiff and other areas, and
the timetable is available through Great Western Railway.
• We’d recommend you check the schedule before you travel since delays and
downtime due to strikes and line maintenance can cause severe disruption.
• Ticket prices vary, although note these can be fairly expensive!
4. Travel Zone Peak Daily Price Peak Weekly Price Peak Monthly Price
A & C – Bristol and Bath
£11.50 £50 £192
A, B & C – Bristol, Bath,
Nailsea and Yatton £13.50 £59 £227
A, B, C & D – Bristol, Bath
and Weston-Super-Mare £18 £76 £290
• The Freedom Travelpass is probably the most cost-effective option if you use the
train service regularly, and you can book weekly or monthly tickets depending on
the zones you wish to travel within:
5. Bus Services in Bath
• Your next option is to use the bus or coach services. There is a bus station
and several stops close to the railway station, although it’s best to verify
which bus you need since this will dictate where you need to wait.
• FirstBus runs Bath buses, and you can find the routes and timetables here.
• Some buses will accept contactless payments, although not all, and it helps
to have the correct change with you just in case.
• Visitors can also buy tickets online in advance, and there are a few ticket
options depending on how often you need to catch the bus into or around
the city or how long you are staying.
6. • The Freedom Travelpass we mentioned above works on buses and trains,
although there aren’t any discounts if you don’t use the pass on a certain
day or week.
• NB – if you want to take two bus trips in one day, ask for a 2-Trip ticket. It
works like a return, but you can use the second journey on any service,
which takes the sting out of the ticket price a bit!
• Bath and North East Somerset residents can apply for a Diamond
Travelcard if they are either over retirement age or are eligible on disability
grounds.
7. Park and Ride Services in Bath
• One of the big public transport issues in Bath is that parking is limited and
exorbitantly expensive – and with the new Clean Air Zone in central Bath, it can
be prohibitive.
• The Clean Air Zone only applies to businesses, although if you work in the city
and don’t travel in a private car, you will be subject to a charge.
• Park and Ride is the best alternative if you want to drive or haven’t downloaded
the Swoop app and don’t want to pay upward of £15 a day for parking.
• There are three Park and Ride services, open seven days a week, but you will
have a 15-minute wait between buses, and the journey takes a further ten
minutes.
8. Parking is free, but you will, of course, need to pay for your bus ticket, and can
only travel along a predefined route, which is solely available to Bath city centre.
If you’re going anywhere else, you’ll need to take a second bus or book a taxi.
The routes are:
• Lansdown Park and Ride – North Bath – to Milsom Street.
• Newbridge Park and Ride – West Bath – to Westgate Buildings.
• Odd Down Park and Ride – South Bath – Southgate and the Royal United
Hospital.
The car parks at the Park and Ride do get full, so if you intend to use this, it’s
worth checking the spaces available with Bath Car Parks to ensure you don’t have
a wasted trip.
9. Bath Fare Car
• Another possible solution is Fare Car, a subsidised taxi service that charges £1.50 per
person, per trip – you cannot claim a discount for children or bus pass holders.
• The transport service is shared and works similarly to a bus with travel along specific routes,
although you must book in advance.
• Journeys into Bath must be booked at least an hour and a half in advance and out from the
city at least half an hour before you hope to travel.
Fare Car isn’t suitable for visitors and is only available to residents of:
• Langridge
• Northend
• Combe Hay
• Shoscombe
• South Stoke
• Wellow
10. Collection Point Destination Days Available Journey Departure
Time
Return Journey Departure
Time
Langridge and
Northend
Bath, Henry Street Weds and Fri 10.30 am and 11.30 am 12.30 pm and 2 pm
Combe Hay,
Shoscombe, South
Stoke, Wellow
Bath, Henry Street Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri 10.30 am and 11.30 am 1 pm and 2.30 pm
• Each individual who wishes to travel must have registered and needs to present a
membership number before they can book a trip.
Routes available include:
• Note that these are pre-scheduled routes and times – neither service runs on other days
of the week or public holidays.
11. E-Scooters in Bath
• Although e-scooters are a little controversial, you can hire a Voi scooter, which you’ll find at
designated parking spots in Bath city centre.
• You should review the rules about driving on a scooter in and around Bath and wear a helmet
since these vehicles are associated with a high volume of accidents.
Bath Taxi Services
• Finally, if this all sounds too expensive, time-consuming or downright stressful, the easiest (and
often cheapest!) option is to book a cab, at your convenience, from door to door.
• Bath taxis are notoriously hard to come by, but without the new Swoop ride-hailing service, you
can travel to and from any destinations within the city or further afield, with no pre-booking
required.
• If you need help planning your travel in and around Bath and Somerset, you can use the
TravelWest Journey Planner or download the Swoop app to have a driver in your pocket
wherever you go!
