Bristol, Bath and the West

Press release: First announces changes to bus services

A series of changes to the bus network in Bristol are being made by First to improve the reliability and punctuality of services in the city. The changes follow the introduction of a new satellite tracking system late last year.

In December 2007 Bristol City Council and First worked together to implement the new satellite tracking system which enables First to see exactly where each bus is at any given moment. The system refreshes every 30 seconds and provides the data needed to produce more accurate and reliable timetables.

Talking about the changes, Justin Davies, Managing Director, First Bristol, Somerset and Avon says, "We have been working closely with Bristol City Council to utilise the information from the satellite tracking system to improve bus services in Bristol. The aim of these changes is to improve the punctuality of the current service we offer to customers. The changes to the timetable are varying in scale but the punctuality of the services will be greatly improved as the new tracking data has enabled us to more accurately predict travel times.'

The following changes are the most notable:

Service 1 Cribbs Causeway-Broomhill
To improve reliability the timetable of this service has been completely changed. All Monday to Friday daytime buses will now serve Cribbs Causeway with a slightly reduced frequency from 10 to every 12 minutes however there is no change to weekend and evening frequencies.

Services 36 Centre-Withywood
The service 36 route has been extended to encompass the 36a route and the timetable has been completely changed. There will now be one simple bus service running between the City Centre and Withywood. Buses will run every 15 minutes Monday " Friday. Most notably, the changes mean that customers travelling between Broadwalk and Brislington between Monday and Friday will benefit from an increased frequency of service, from 30 to every 15 minutes. No changes have been made to weekend frequencies.



Service 51 Centre-Rookery Farm
This service has been retimed to take account of the additional time needed for buses to travel to each point on the route during peak hours. The new completely revised timetable will be more reliable, but there is a slight reduction in frequency from 10 to every 12 minutes at peak times. No changes have been made to off-peak or weekend frequencies.

Service 52 Hengrove-Inns Court
The timetable of this service has been completely changed to improve reliability. Currently this service operates from Inns Court to Highridge every 15 minutes and every 30 minutes buses continue to Hengrove depot. The frequency of this service will be changed to every 20 minutes from Inns Court to Hengrove Depot. Customers living in Highridge on Cutler Road, Whitchurch Road and Whitland Road will benefit from an increased frequency up from 30 to every 20 minutes. There is no change to weekend frequencies.

Service 73 Cribbs Causeway-Centre
Minor timetable changes have been to certain journeys on this service.

Service 74 Centre-Bakers Ground
This service will now run twice a day, once in the morning at 07:37 into Bristol City Centre, and once in the evening at 17:43. Alternative bus services can be picked up from Bristol Parkway train station.

Services 89 and 90 Broadmead-Inns Court Green
These services are being combined to provide a new service 90 which will run every 12 minutes on Monday to Saturday daytimes and every 20 minutes in the evenings. Customers living in Illminster Avenue, Throgmorton Road and Creswicke Road will have an increased frequency up from 20 to every 12 minutes.
The service will no longer operate in Leinster Avenue. As an alternative, service 36 will continue to operate via Leinster Avenue providing a link to the City Centre. Customers can also catch service 90 from Melvin Square, Donegal Road or Inns Court Road.

Detailed timetable information regarding all the bus routes operated by First Bristol, Somerset and Avon can be found at www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southwest/bristol or can be obtained from any First Travel Shop.

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