Route 768 makes a comeback

Thursday 16th October 2025

West of England Combined Authority’s (WECA) extensive WESTlink branded DRT scheme saw an interesting new development last month – the addition of a fixed bus route with a fixed timetable. Quite a novelty for a DRT obsessed Authority.

Being on the WESTlink database from my previous rides, I was intrigued to receive a marketing email during August telling me all about “brand new” route 768 from 1st September providing an off peak return journey to Bath from five villages in the Cam Valley, south west of the city, (Clandown, Camerton, Priston. Nailwell and Englishcombe) as well as links to Radstock at the southern end of the route.

The aforementioned villages were cut off from the bus network map back in 2023 after WECA ceased funding a whole raft of rural routes leaving passengers with the new WESTlink DRT as their only replacement option, albeit a journey into Bath necessitated using DRT to connect with a scheduled bus route. The local media gave the development an interesting spin….

The 2023 service withdrawals included the 768 so in a policy about turn, WECA has reintroduced the fixed timetable route meaning villagers no longer need play ‘DRT lottery’ every time they want to travel and can once again reach Bath directly as the DRT option (which remains in place) excludes the city as a destination.

Could this be the first chink in the Authority’s previous unflinching commitment to DRT, I wonder? Perhaps acknowledging complete flexibility across geographic zones is not the best way to serve a rural population, and fixed timetabled bus routes, where passengers have reassurance of when and where the bus will run, do have a role to play.

It’s interesting that WECA’s email began “Introducing the brand new 768….” rather airbrushing out the fact the same authority withdrew the old 768 just over two years ago.

Like the last one, this “brand new 768” is not particularly extensive with just two off peak return journeys covering the full route and two single journeys covering the southern half which start and end the 09:06 to 15:13 operating day, therefore offering rather limited travel options.

Residents in the aforementioned isolated villages can enjoy just over three hours in Bath or from Camerton and Clandown a choice of two hours, 20 minutes or five hours, 20 minutes in the much smaller (than Bath) town of Radstock.

It’s an absolute corker of a rural route to ride with some gorgeous scenic views across this part of rural Somerset as well as serving quintessential English villages, as I found last Thursday when I gave it a try out and met up with one of the friendliest drivers I’ve ever come across in my travels.

Nick had driving experience with First Bus before switching to E-Zec Medical Transport Services which has been involved with WESTlink DRT since it began in 2023 and has now taken on the one bus contract for the 768 until next March when the Combined Authority will be reviewing its future.

Last Thursday was Nick’s first day on his own on the 768, having route learned it with a colleague on Tuesday.

The terminal point in Bath is at a bus stop in a road called Ambury on central Bath’s extensive one-way circuit rather than in the bus station which struck me as odd but I easily found the road thanks to Google maps although the bus stop itself was not shown but I was reassured to find a timetable for the 768 posted in a case. A coach was parked up blocking the stop which was also there later in the morning, and I wondered if it had moved or stayed put in between times. Ironically it was owned by CT Coaches which once ran the 768 as shown in this archive timetable leaflet from 2010 when the route also served the village of Inglesbatch and continued to Clutton

Nick arrived from the route’s first journey from Timsbury into Bath at 10:30 with only two passengers alighting from that…

…and it was just me boarding for the next journey at 10:35 to Writhlington, and indeed it was just me on board for the whole journey.

Some of the roads along the route are very narrow but we didn’t meet any vehicles coming the other way which was helpful.

There was a diversion in place to reach Camerton (shown in red on the map below) due to a road closure which included more narrow country lanes but the running time appeared generous so it didn’t impact our timekeeping.

Route 768’s terminal point is in Writhlington which is an eastern extension of Radstock. The bus turns round in a residential area where a passenger was waiting to board when we arrived at 11:39, just over an hour since leaving Bath.

The gentleman was pleased to have the 768 back again as it enabled him to avoid a walk into Radstock. He’d already made this journey on a few previous occasions. However, the only return journey home at 14:40 was a bit too early for his requirements, so he walked.

I’d noticed along the route timetables for the 768 were displayed in timetable cases in the villages we passed through…

…and it was good to see these were also at the terminal point…

… although it was a shame about the graffiti; and the bus stop flag could do with a bit of a wash and brush up.

We set off back to Bath on time at 11:45 retracing the lovely route once again and this time meeting a couple of vehicles on the narrow roads but fortunately both were in the hands of proficient reversers.

It was proving to be another quiet journey with no passengers until we got to the delightful village of Englishcombe at 12:34 where a female joined us for the rest of the journey into Bath and where we arrived on time at 12:48 only to find the bus stop blocking coach had been joined by two out of service Faresaver buses.

Nick was then off for his break until the next journey back to Writhlington at 13:45.

Nick explained he’d heard colleague drivers had experienced busier journeys with one shift reportedly having carried 30 passengers across the six journeys but that sounded somewhat surprising to me based on Thursday’s experience.

While it’s very encouraging to see a trial of fixed journeys rather than leave passengers to the vagaries of trying to book an elusive DRT across a rural area I’m not sure this trial will result in enough passengers to make for a sustainable future.

It seems odd the bus isn’t committed before or after its off peak work on the 768. After 15:13 the driver’s duty includes a few hours work on another vehicle on the WESTlink DRT which E-Zec still has some involvement in, but nothing for the bus to do. It’s day finishes at 15:13.

It’s interesting to note whereas WESTlink began with at least 24 buses (maybe up to 30) across all its many zones in the Greater Bristol area in April 2023 this was slimmed down in April this year to what I understand to be 10 in the southern zones and eight in the northern area.

Via was awarded the latter contract and operate it under Taxi/Private Hire licensing while Thames Valley (not the Reading Transport one but another similar named set up which also operates DRT in Buckinghamshire) gained the contract for the southern zones. However six of those ten vehicles have been subcontracted to E-Zec Medical leaving Thames Valley with just four vehicles (again on Taxi/Private Hire licences).

WESTlink’s website aims to explain the zone set up…

… but for me it just comes across as rather confusing, not helped when you click on one of the zone names (eg Bath Rural) and get a map in which you can’t really see where the boundaries are.

The website does give an idea of where you can connect with scheduled bus routes if you want to travel further than the zone boundary…

… but I wouldn’t want to risk a journey back and trying to book a DRT to connect. It just all comes across as a complicated and confusing way to travel compared to the simplicity of the “brand new” 768, albeit its very limited travel options.

It’ll be interesting to see what WECA do at the end of March 2026 when all this is up for review.

Roger French

Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS