Bus passengers in Devizes might think they have strayed into Greater London with the new Tube-style bus maps that have been appearing in town bus shelters.

They are the work of Devizes Passengers, a voluntary public transport group that works with Wiltshire Council to improve bus provision in the area.

The new maps, described as “spider” maps by the group, are the result of months of hard work by Devizes Passengers. Town mayor Kelvin Nash officially launched them at a ceremony in the Market Place last week.

Jasper Selwyn, chairman of Devizes Passengers, said: “Since the demise of the tourist information centre the only source of information about public transport in Devizes is the departure times at the bus stops.

“Our detailed maps should help people work out which service they need to take.”

Kate Freeman, the project manager for the group, said: “We are using the London Transport bus spider maps as a model. This raises the bar for bus users and is something of a revolution for public transport in Devizes.

“Wiltshire Council has a policy of not publishing timetables, preferring to leave it up to the bus operators.

“Whether they are regular passengers boarding in Devizes, people new to public transport or council members having to make decisions about services, for the first time people will know precisely which bus goes where.”

Wiltshire councillor Richard Gamble, who is the portfolio holder for public transport at Wiltshire Council, attended last Wednesday’s launch.

He said: “Producing a map like this may seem an easy thing to do – but it isn’t. I know the considerable effort that it has taken to achieve this excellent result – an effort that Wiltshire Council does not have the resources to achieve on its own.

“Some people use buses because they are environmentally friendly but for many members of our community they are a vital facility that provides their principal link to the world.

“Often these people do not have access to cars – not just the young, the old and the poor, but those families where one member is using the car when another member wants to get around.”

Also present at last week’s launch were Coun Margaret Taylor, who is the town council’s spokesman on public transport, Tony Sedgwick from Devizes Community Area Partnership and Devizes Passengers members Susan Hiscock and Dorothy Robertson.