Somerset Council has admitted it has no power to stop further closure of bus depots across the county.

First Bus, which provides a large proportion of bus services across Somerset, closed its Bridgwater bus depot on Boards Road on September 3 – forcing drivers to commute to Taunton and other depots to sign on for their shifts.

The company also confirmed in late-September that it intended to demolish its Yeovil bus depot (located on the A30 Reckleford) in a bid to sell the site, which has been on the market since late-2015.

Transport campaigner David Redgewell has called on Somerset Council to intervene to protect any further depots from closing, arguing it could lead to services being cut and exacerbate driver shortages.

The council has said it cannot intervene in any commercial decisions by the operator – but added it would do what it could on bus infrastructure which lay within its ownership, including the former Taunton bus station on Tower Street.

Mr Redgwell made his plea when the full council met in Bridgwater on September 27 – though he was unable to attend the meeting in person.

He said: "With the closure of the First Bus depots in Bridgwater and the proposal to close Yeovil bus depot (with the provision of an out-station bus depot in Yeovil with provision for 12 buses), is this enough to grow the bus network in Yeovil and the surrounding area?

"Has the council protected its bus and coach depots, along with the bus and coach stations in numerous Somerset towns?

"What progress is being made on the reopening of the historic Taunton bus and coach station as a new transport hub with passengers' facilities, a waiting room, changing places toilets, refreshments, cycle hire and e-scooter hire?"

Councillor Mike Rigby, portfolio holder for transport and digital, responded: "The council doesn't have the ability to intervene in any bus company's commercial management, either of their land holdings or their operational facilities – these are commercial decisions for the companies themselves.

"The bus operator is required to agree with the traffic commissioner what their maintenance and depots arrangements will be, though – and any facilities which are under council control following the move to the new unitary authority are subject to our decision-making processes.

"With regard to reopening the bus station that First Bus closed a couple of years ago, we are out to public consultation on the layout and how that will operate in the period just before Christmas."

The council has been implementing numerous measures to encourage bus use using £11.9m of central government funding under its bus services improvement plan (BSIP).

These include the £1 Taunton fare zone, lowering fares for Taunton's park and ride service, and the capping of single journeys across the county at £2.

This latter cap has now been extended to December 2024 after prime minister Rishi Sunak announced at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Wednesday (October 2) that he would be scrapping the HS2 rail scheme north of Birmingham – freeing up billions of pounds for transport projects across the south west, including the delivery of the new railway station at Wellington.

Four bus routes across Somerset are currently being subsidised directly by the council – the 25 between Dulverton and Taunton, the 28 between Minehead and Taunton, the 54 between Taunton and Yeovil, and the 58/58a between Wincanton and Yeovil.

However, due to the county's precarious financial situation, these subsidies are currently due to finish at the end of March 2024 – and if passenger numbers do not rise significantly, these routes could be cut back or stopped altogether.

Speaking after the prime minister's announcement, Mr Rigby said: "We'll be appealing directly to the communities on these routes to safeguard their services by using them. The extension of the £2 fare is great news for bus passengers and anyone thinking about getting on board.

"All these routes link key towns and many village communities in between, but simply not enough people are using them.

"In the current financial climate, we will not be able to subsidise these routes indefinitely and that inevitably means people need to use their buses or lose them.

"If you live in these communities and you're commuting to Taunton or Yeovil by car, it has to be worth your while to think about the savings you can make by using the bus instead with the rising cost of fuel compared to cheap bus fares – less than a latte to get to the centre of Taunton from Langport or Somerton.

"If you do the maths, it's close to a 50-mile round trip from Taunton to Minehead on the 28 which costs just £4. What else can you buy for that these days that offers that kind of value?"

First Bus South director James Eustace added: "We're working closely with the council to ensure we provide services that local people can rely on.

"We have been open about the challenges we've faced in Somerset, but we're working hard to address reliability and punctuality through our new network timetable, as well as recruiting more drivers.

"We want to encourage people to use the bus as a cost effective, greener method of transport. We'll be playing our part by continuing to improve reliability, helping our passengers get to where they need to be."