It's been a great success, and it means next year will be even better; that's the view from two voluntary organisations that worked together to provide a unique day out this year that enabled people to use public transport to visit a local attraction in the West Midlands.
The Transport Museum at Wythall in Worcestershire is home to a significant collection of vintage buses, electric vehicles and a steam powered miniature railway. The Friends of the Shakespeare Line is a voluntary Community Station Partnership that supports volunteers at 18 railway stations between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon. In Spring this year, the two organisations discussed how they could help one another.
The result was a unique offer of a vintage bus meeting selected service trains at nearby Wythall railway station and providing a free ride to and from the Museum, connecting it to trains in the scheduled service and allowing several hours at the museum. The concept operated on specific days throughout the summer school holidays and has been hailed as a success by both organisations.
Denis Chick, Trustee of the Transport Museum at Wythall, said "This great idea was a quiet starter but as awareness grew we met more people using the trains from as far away as Gloucester, using the connections. With an extended marketing programme, it bodes well for 2022.”
The Friends of the Shakespeare Line are pleased too. They are keen to develop closer links with the Transport Museum at Wythall and potentially broaden the offer and service next year.
The Treasurer of FoSL, Fraser Pithie, said "The vintage bus rides for rail passengers to get to and from the Transport Museum at Wythall have shown people will use public transport to have a day out. Getting off a scheduled train service and hopping on a bus from yesteryear for a ride to a great museum is a fantastic offer.”
There are other things planned for 2022 that are under wraps for the moment, but both organisations say they will be jointly unveiling what they describe as something unique early next year.
Further information about the Transport Museum at Wythall