Incredibly, nearly a year after the service was started, there are no signs at all at Chipenham station to tell you that - at certain times of day ONLY - the 234 bus to Melksham and Trowbridge calls there.  I can't for the life of me work out why this information is lacking - the bus stop lists what it says are all services calling here as of January 2007 but it misses out the 234 completely.   

A letter from the First Group's bus section recently advised me to check on the web for stops and times - so I guess that everyone who uses First's public transport services now has web access via their phone??

Anyway - here's a picture to prove that some 234 service do go to Chippenham Station. (15:15, 16:35, 17:35, 18:34, 19:24, 20:44 and 22:10 Mondays to Saturdays).   If you want to go from Chippenham Station to Melksham or Trowbridge earlier in the day, there's a solitary train at 06:35 on Mondays to Fridays, or you can walk across Chippenham to the Town Bridge or the Bus Station.

The bus is paralleled later in the day by trains at 15:35 and 21:09 (both Saturday ONLY) and at 18:58 (Monday to Friday Only). These trains are over twice as quick as the buses - not a suprise considering the central location of Chippenham Station, and all the speed restrictions and congestion on the road south to Melksham and beyond.

here is my reply:

Dear Mr Bretton
Re: Timetable Information, Service 234
Thank you for your letter regarding the current availability of timetable information for the Number 234 service at Chippenham Railway Station.
I am very sorry if this has caused any inconvenience for you, and assure you that full timetable information is available in advance from Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 or at www.traveline.org.uk. I can assure you that I have passed your concerns on to our Bus Stop Liaison Officer, who has advised us that the timetable information at this stop is provided jointly between Wiltshire County Council and the Railway Station, not by us here at First Buses.
Our officer will pursue this matter with these authorities to ensure that they are made aware of the situation, so it can be addressed. You may wish to contact Wiltshire County Council direct if you have any further concerns regarding the facilities at this stop.
I hope you will feel reassured by our efforts and trust that you will observe an improvement in the facilities and information provided at this stop in the near future.
Should you have any further comments or queries regarding any aspect of our operation, please do not hesitate to contact me again and I shall do my best to be of assistance to you.
 
 
Yours Sincerely
 
Jill Reeves Customer Services
 
 
 
First Somerset and Avon Limited
Registered in England number 25C88
Mitglied   www.outwardbound-uk.org   Oldmixon Crescent, Weston-super-Mare, BS24 9AY

So I'm standing at Chippenham Station at 19:30 off a late running service from London, and I know I've just missed a bus.   But as they're not clockface timed in the evening, I'm not sure when the next one will be.

It's so re-assuring to know that I could have called a premium rate travel line ahead of time, or that if the Internet Cafe at the station was open I could go in there and check ...

If someone was to spray paint the bus times to Melksham onto the bus stop in Chippenham, could "in the public interest" be quoted as a valid defense?