BUS users are being reminded of a number of changes to services in and around Swindon which come into force next week.

From Tuesday, September 1, changes to Thamesdown services in the town will see additional buses running to and from New College and the Great Western Hospital, as well as an enhanced commuter Service 27 to Windmill Hill and a revised service from Park South to the town centre.

The current non-stop service to Great Western Hospital will become an all-stop service, removing the express 16X, which the firm says will enable more passengers along the route to access both the hospital and college.

The change will mean number 16 buses run every 10 minutes from Monday to Friday, instead of every 12 minutes currently.

On Saturdays the frequency will increase from every 30 minutes to every 15 minutes.

Peter Oliver, commercial director at Thamesdown, said: “We’re very pleased to be able to introduce these improvements to the Thamesdown bus network.

"By increasing the frequency and stops on Service 16, we hope to make sure that no-one needs to wait very long to catch a bus to the Hospital.

"We have also identified where we think the public will benefit from additional buses and so boosted the number of buses that serve workers at Windmill Hill."

Commuters to Windmill Hill will benefit from an enhanced service during weekday peak commuting hours, with the merger of Services 27 and 28 into a revised Service 27.

The frequency of these buses will improve from the current two buses per hour to up to four per hour, but the service 28 ceases to run.

Park South residents will see a change to the route of Service 18 in a bid to make it more reliable.

From Whitbourne Avenue, the service will operate on an anti-clockwise loop following Cranmore Avenue to return to the town centre. This service will no longer serve Coate Water.

There will be minor timing changes to the 17:07 Service 12 from Croft Campus, which will still leave at 17:07 but subsequent stops will be up to 5 minutes later to improve reliability. Several Service 48 journeys will be also brought forward by 10 minutes in order to improve reliability.

A new town services timetable booklet and Services 46/48 leaflet is now available from the Thamesdown Transport Travel Shop on Fleming Way.

More information on the services and the changes is available online at www.thamesdownbus.com.