Somerset’s rural areas will continue to miss out on bus service investment after the coronavirus crisis is over, according to the boss of a local firm.

Alex Carter, managing director of First Group South West, is responsible for running all First’s bus services in Somerset and Cornwall.

He said investment would be focused on routes which were already profitable – including the service linking Taunton to Bridgwater and Burnham-on-Sea, and the route between Taunton and Minehead.

He also confirmed that Taunton bus station (which shut on March 27) would not reopen, stating the cost of keeping it open was too great.

Mr Carter spoke at a virtual meeting of Somerset West and Taunton Council’s scrutiny committee meeting on May 13.

He said that if the coronavirus crisis had not happened, the company would be currently investing more money in routes which had high existing demand, to pay for improved vehicles and more services in the evenings and at weekends.

He said: “We would look to put that investment principally into the corridors where we either have achieved or believe we can achieve further growth.

“They tend to be the main routes between Taunton, Bridgwater and Burnham-on-Sea, or Taunton to Minehead”.

Councillor Ian Aldridge (who represents Watchet and Williton) said improvements were urgently needed on the 28 route route between Taunton and Minehead.

He said: “We used to have double-decker buses operating to Minehead. The three railway bridges are all 13’9” maximum headroom, and that hasn’t changed in all the time that the bridges have been there.

“If you make a touchdown at Heathrow airport at 5:30pm, you cannot get back to West Somerset. You can get back to Taunton, but there is no bus after 8:15pm.”

Mr Carter said there were “very few vehicles” currently in service which could otherwise service the 28 route to Minehead, citing industry standards of the height of double-deckers.

He said: “For whatever reason, the industry has generally settled on the ‘hybrid’ version of double-deckers, which are either 14’3” or 14’6” in old money.

“Later buses is something we would be looking at in terms of service improvements on the more popular routes.”

Mr Carter said the Somerset side of First Group had returned to profit after many years of being “heavily loss-making” – but added the situation was “more fragile” than its operations in Cornwall.

He said the sale of the Tower Street bus station had been “mooted for some time” to help balance the books and provide money for new, better buses.

He said: “For whatever reason, it hadn’t had the TLC over the years that it ought to have had… It was in a poor state of repair.

“This is about trying to coral our costs into areas which are essential and enable us to provide the maximum level of quality service.”

Taunton railway station is currently being upgraded by Great Western Railway, with an improved interchange with buses near the revamped southern entrance.

But Mr Carter said the station was “too far out of the town centre to be considered a direct replacement” for the bus station.

He also revealed there had been discussions about the company leasing back the bus station from its new owner – but these ultimately came to nothing.

He said: “There had been an expectation that we would be able to perhaps use the bus station on some sort of lease-back basis temporarily, but that didn’t form part of the final agreement.”