Wells is set to benefit from a new bus link to Bristol, First West of England has announced.

Starting 1st September, the county's largest bus operator will extend its existing service 376 to Yeovil, connecting it to Bristol via Street, Glastonbury, and Wells.

This extension will replace the existing service 77 (Wells to Yeovil). Additionally, a 376x express service will be introduced in the mornings between Wells and Yeovil.

This new connection to Bristol is part of a broader series of improvements to bus services across Somerset. Earlier this year, new services from Taunton (service 374) and Bridgwater (service 375) to Bristol were introduced.

The changes come as part of a bi-annual review of routes by First West of England. Other key changes affecting Wells include:

• The introduction of service 373 (Wells to Street), which will serve the Windmill Hill area in Glastonbury. This new service follows the withdrawal of services 374 and 375 from the estate due to low passenger numbers, aiming to improve journey times and punctuality.
• Adjustments to the timetable for service 174 (Wells to Bath via Shepton Mallet) to enhance punctuality. Some Sunday morning journeys will now operate as service 171, bypassing Shepton Mallet due to low passenger numbers.

Rob Pymm, Commercial Director for First West of England, said: "Our ambition to link our urban routes in Bristol to our local routes in Somerset has proved really popular since we connected Taunton and Bridgwater in April.

"I'm therefore really pleased that we're extending this further by connecting Yeovil to Bristol, creating new direct links for adults whose £2 single fare will cost as little as 5p per mile along the whole route, demonstrating the great value that bus travel offers.

"Encouraging more people to travel by bus can only be good news for Somerset and the wider West of England region, and allows us to invest more in our network to improve routes, provide more buses and new services, and improve punctuality.

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"With these improvements and adult and child single fares still at £2 and £1 respectively, we're making bus travel accessible to all to encourage our existing customers to travel more and encourage new customers to give the bus a go."

First Bus has consulted with local authorities, including Somerset Council, on the new routes ahead of their implementation in September. Detailed timetables will be available on the First West of England website in the coming weeks. Customers are advised to check their routes before travelling.