A Frome councillor has demanded that recently-awarded government funding be used to address "unreliable" local bus services across the town.
The Department for Transport (DfT) announced in December 2025 that Somerset Council would be provided with more than £24.7m up to April 2030 to improve local bus services.
Of this funding, around £13.1m comprises revenue spending (up to April 2029), which can be used to reduce running costs for passengers - for instance, by capping the fares on the Taunton park and ride service.
Councillor Dawn Denton, the Conservative division member for Frome North, has demanded that some of this revenue be used to address Frome's bus services, arguing the town "deserves its fair share of funding".
The council has said that decisions on how this funding will be allocated (regarding which services and areas) will made in the coming weeks and months.
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Ms Denton made her request when the full council met in Bridgwater shortly before Christmas (the recording of which has only recently been made public).
She said: "The transport secretary has made £13.1m available to Somerset Council over the next three years for our declining bus services.
"The residents of Frome, across demographics, are disadvantaged due to the poor bus connectivity.
"Our older residents, including those living in areas like Critchill, have to catch a bus into the centre of Frome, wait in the wind and rain, to get another bus to the medical centre.
"Our young people are unable to access apprenticeships in and around Frome, due to the infrequency of our bus service.
"Those working in hospitality are still lucky to have a job, but find the service unreliable."
The council announced in December that it would use separate central government grants to purchase six further wheelchair-accessible diesel minibuses to expand its Digital Slinky service, which allows residents to pre-book transport for shopping, medical appointments and other trips in areas which are not well-served by other public transport.
A seventh electric minibus was purchased using the same grant, and will be used to support the 30 bus service in Frome.
Ms Denton added: "The Slinky Bus does not have a high uptake in the former Mendip area due to a range of issues (e.g. the need to book, something new and unfamiliar).
"We would like to see some transport investment into our community, in and around Frome. Frome deserves its fair share of funding to improve our bus services.
"Can you give us a breakdown of how this £13.1 m for our bus services will be allocated and the criteria used to decide where in Somerset our communities will see the benefit of this money?"
The remaining £11.5m from central government consists of capital funding (up to April 2030), which is typically used on projects such as the delivery of Taunton's new transport hub and its rural counterpart in Langport.
Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and waste services, said: "I'm really pleased that the government has confirmed that we will be receiving a multi-year settlement - that's really important to improve local bus services.
"We've really only just learned what the sums are and we're working that through - we haven't done the breakdown of how it will be allocated to specific schemes at the moment.
"I will update all members on this in due course."
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