RESIDENTS TRAVEL INFORMATION GUIDE
Your Guide to Transport Options from Somerton
WELCOME TO SOMERTON
Welcome to the Somerton Travel Information site. This site is designed to assist in making your move as easy as possible.
It provides information on how to get around using public transport and other environmentally friendly methods to commute to work and school, or explore the area.
Somerton can be considered a walkable town since it is less than 2km across and boasts a wide range of local facilities, making it self‐contained and minimising the need to travel by car to destinations outside of the town.
YOUR TRAVEL PLAN
The Travel Information Pack is one of the measures included in the Travel Plan produced for the this residential development.
The Travel Plan is a document which contains a package of measures to encourage you to use sustainable alternatives to travelling by car.
The Travel Plan can offer real benefits not only to you, but also to the community that surrounds you. It can help to relieve local parking and congestion problems and improve public transport connections across the area.
The Travel Plan had been implemented and managed by a Travel Plan Co‐ordinator whose duty is ensuring that the Travel Plan is managed, monitored and reviewed over time. The TPC will co‐ordinate the on‐going development and management ofthe Travel Plan, including further measures, raising awareness, monitoring and review.
WALKING
Walking is one of the cheapest, easiest and simplest forms of transport, which is boosted by there being a wide range of shops and services accessible within a short walk from the development.
Somerton town centre benefits from a range of facilities that residents are likely to use on a day-to-day basis inluding food stores, doctor's surgery and a school. You can walk into town in under 20 minutes from Somerton Mead. Just head down Bancombe Road and it’s straight ahead.
Benefits of walking: Walking is great exercise and most of all it is free! Walking, even for ten minutes a day can contribute to looking and feeling great. Regular walking can reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol, tones up muscles and can strengthen bones. It is excellent for losing weight or simply improving fitness levels through low impact and low intensity exercise. The benefits of choosing walking over car use include:
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Reduces travel costs
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Helps reduce congestion
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Expands social networks
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Helps burn calories
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Reduces wear and tear on your own vehicle
For further information:
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Living Streets (the walking charity): https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/
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Walkit: https://walkit.com
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Mapmywalk: https://www.mapmywalk.com/
CYCLYING
Cycling is great for the environment. It helps you to avoid traffic and congestion, as well as reducing fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
The South Somerset Cycleway (Route 30) runs very close to Somerton Mead along Bancombe Road. This is a circular route and joins Castle Cary and Langport, where National Cycle Network Route 3 can be picked up.
Cycling UK is an online platform that provides insurance, access to cycle magazine, group rides, retail discounts and more, for a small fee. It provides advice and guidance to those new to cycling or looking to gain some more confidence when commuting or leisure riding. It aims to make cycling accessible to all. More information can be found here: https://www.cyclinguk.org/back-your-bike
Benefits of cycling: Regular cycling is a great form of transport for most people because it is cheaper than other forms of transport, easy and great exercise. Somerton town centre benefits from a range of facilities that residents are likely to cycle to on a day-to‐day basis. The low levels of traffic and speed on routes in close proximity of the development makes it conducive for cycling. Regular cycling is great for you health because it:
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Reduces blood pressure
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Lowers Cholesterol
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Strengthen bones
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Tones muscles
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Improves fitness
For further information:
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Route planning: http://www.cycle-route.com/
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Sustrans: http://www.sustrans.org.uk/
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Cycling buddy: https://www.cyclingbuddy.com/
BUS
Bus services provide the closest form of local public transport providing connections to Taunton and Yeovil as well as other nearby towns and villages. The nearest bus stops to the site are located on the junction of Langport Road/Gasson’s Lane. These stops are approximately 400m walk south of the site, accessible via Public Footpath (L25/8).
The eastbound Gassons Lane bus stop benefits from a bus shelter and raised kerbs for improved access. Service 54 calls at this stop and routes to Somerton town centre, Illchester and Yeovil every 90 minutes between 07:47 and 18:27 Monday to Saturday. No service is available on Sunday.
The westbound Gassons Lane bus stop benefits from raised kerbs for improved access and a bus information board. Service 54 calls at this stop and routes to Langport and Taunton every 90 minutes between 07:21 and 18:09 Monday to Saturday. No service is available on Sunday.
Bus service 77 also runs along Behind Berry and operates bwteen Wells, Glastonbury, Street and Yeovil.
For further information:
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Bus times: http://www.traveline.info/
RAIL
The closest train station is in Castle Cary. The Station lies 10 miles to the east of Somerton and provides services to London Paddington, Weymouth and Plymouth. Facilities include a 178 space car park, cycle parking, public WIFI, refreshment facilities and accessible toilets. More information can be seen at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/CLC/details.html
Rail fares can vary significantly, however, booking in advance makes rail travel cheaper. There are a number of memberships and rail cards available that can help reduce the cost.
For further information:
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Great Western Railway: https://www.gwr.com/
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Trainline: https://www.thetrainline.com/
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National Rail: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
CAR SHARING
Car sharing is when two or more people travelling on the same route travel together for some or all of a trip. One of the people travelling is usually the owner of the vehicle and the others are passengers. Passengers can sometimes make a contribution towards fuel or parking costs, or sometimes share the driving.
The benefits of car sharing include:
Liftshare.com offers a cost saving calculator feature which calculates how much you currently spend on a single car journey and how much could be saved by lift sharing.
For further information:
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Bla Bla Car: https://www.blablacar.co.uk/
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Saving fuel costs
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Reduced greenhouse gas emissions
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Dedicated car share spaces
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Making new friends
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Electric vehicles and (EVs) and plug in hybrid vehicles are becoming increasingly popular and growing at a rapid rate in the UK. According to zap-map.com there are currently about 850,000 fully electric cars on UK roads and a further 530,000 plug-in hybrids (as of the end of August 2023). The number of charging points is growing rapidly. At the end of August 2023, there were 48,450 electric vehicle charging points across the UK, across 29,062 charging locations. The proportion of all new cars sold in August 2023 that were either fully electric or plug-in hybrid is 27.8%.
Benefits of owning and using an electric vehicle include:
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Charge anywhere: You can charge your vehicle anywhere, at home overnight, on the move at service stations, in town centres, supermarkets across the county or at work. A map of the charging points can be found on: www.zap-map.com
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Cuts costs: Electric cars are cheap to run, require less maintenance and could have a cheaper annual tax rate! Grants are available to help purchase.
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Reduce emissons: electric vehicles do not emit any tailpipe emissions or greenhouse gases, so is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and do your bit for the planet!
The West Street Car Park in Somerton has one EV charging point.
For further information:
HOME WORKING
Reducing the need to travel to work or while at work can save time and money while benefiting the environment. If you work from home just once a fortnight you are reducing your commute by 10%, which saves you both time and money.
Working from home one of more days per week is beneficial to the environment through reduced car based commuting and congestion, so if you are able and it works for you it would be good to continue doing it.
Benefits of home working
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Improved work/life balance
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Reduced levels of sickness absence
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Reduced costs in travel and lunches
HOME DELIVERY
Supermarkets also provide home shopping delivery options in the local area including Asda, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Tesco and Morrison’s. This could reduce the need to travel by car for your weekly or larger shopping trips. A lot of clothes, shoes, toys and goods retailers also offer online shopping services, with deliveries to your home address, local post offices or even local grocery shops; depending on the retailers preference. Delivery details will be on retailers websites.
YOUR LOCAL SURROUNDINGS
The map below shows the some important available facilities within your local area.
