New Weekend Shuttle Bus Starting 20th May

This is great news for our area!

Gloucestershire Community Rail Partnership and WWT Slimbridge are excited to announce the launch of the Slimbridge Shuttle, a new local minibus service that will connect the communities of Cam, Dursley and Slimbridge with the railway station at Cam & Dursley and the famous WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre on Saturdays and Sundays over summer 2023.

The service is the first of its kind in Gloucestershire, and starts on Saturday 20 May. It has been commissioned by Gloucester Community Rail Partnership and will be run by Community Connexions, with support from Cross Country trains and GWR.

As well as taking passengers from the station to Cam, Dursley and Slimbridge, it will give local residents access to main line trains to and from Bristol, Cheltenham and Gloucester using public transport, and link up communities along its route. The Slimbridge Shuttle has also been designed with visitors to the area in mind, and will stop at Shepherd's Patch on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, near the Tudor Arms pub, Black Shed café and Tudor Caravan Park.

The 16-seater bus service will run hourly, from around 8 am to 6 pm, on Saturdays and Sundays during summer 2023. The route starts from the south end of Dursley town and stops at Dursley bus station, Cam village, Cam & Dursley Station, Slimbridge village, Shepherd's Patch and Slimbridge Wetland Centre. It will call in at Cam & Dursley station on the way to and from Slimbridge, taking rail passengers to Cam & Dursley villages as well as dropping off Slimbridge visitors at the station.

Fares are £1 for a single journey or £2 for a return, with contactless payment and cash accepted. Bus pass holders and WWT volunteers travel free, and there are concessions for under 18s.

There is one wheelchair space which can be booked in advance by phoning Community Connexions on 0345 680 5029.

Mobile tickets can also be purchased using the MyTrip by Passenger app. Just download from the Apple or Android store and search for Community Connexions in the operator list.

WWT Head of Sustainability Lucy Smith has helped to develop the new service, and is looking forward to it starting:

"WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre is really pleased to be part of this service which will enable our existing and new visitors to come to the site without needing to bring a car. We hope it gets good levels of uptake during the trial to make the case to retain and expand the service in the future. I'll be using it to visit the site and go to the station at the weekends!"

Dursley Town Mayor, Councillor Alex Stennett, is also looking forward to the service starting:

"The new weekend shuttle bus is a great addition to local services and I hope it will be well used by our residents during the pilot period. I hope it will help give people better access to places across Dursley, Cam and Slimbridge, including the Rail Station and WWT. It also has potential environmental benefits too in helping to cut down on local car use and giving people more choice in how they travel."

For more information including a full timetable see the website link below, timetables will also be available from Dursley Town Council office and the VIC at the Library, May Lane.