Bristol, Bath and the West

Press Release: First consults passengers on proposed service changes

First consults passengers on proposed service changes

First is consulting passengers and other stakeholders on proposed changes to services 75, 75A, 76 and 77.

No decisions have yet been made and First is keen to hear people's views on the proposals.

First aims to run a safe, reliable and punctual bus service for our customers. However, there are some routes where we accept that reliability and punctuality are not as good as they should be.

We recognise that this is a problem on routes 75, 75A, 76 and 77, which run from Cribbs Causeway, Southmead and Henbury to Hartcliffe.

Indeed, in a recent survey of passengers on this route nearly three-quarters raised reliability as their key concern.

First has looked carefully at these services and believes that one of the primary reasons for problems with reliability and punctuality is the length of the routes " up to 16 miles across the city. This means that delays on one section of the route can have a knock-on effect for passengers several miles away.

First believes the best solution is to split the routes in the city centre. Past experience has shown that this should bring significant improvements in reliability and indeed several passengers requested the route be shortened or split, without prompting, in the survey.

Passengers wanting to travel across the city would be able to change buses at Broad Quay or other stops in the centre, with through tickets available to cover their whole journey.

Additional proposals are:

* Withdrawing a section of the route in Patchway along Rodway Road, Durban Road and Bradley Road. This is due to vehicle damage, particularly with parked cars along both sides of the road.
* We also propose rerouting the new service 76 in Southmead so that all buses serve Southmead Road, Doncaster Road and Greystoke Avenue.
* The final proposal is to withdraw Service 75A due to low customer demand, though buses would still serve Somerfield headquarters on a new service 95.

The changes would mean anyone living between the junction of Southmead Road and Pen Park Road and the Centre would have the same frequency of buses whatever the time of day as currently. People living in Brentry, Henbury and Southmead Road (the part served currently), Doncaster Road and Greystoke Avenue in Southmead currently get buses every 20 minutes during the day - as all the proposed service 76 buses would now serve these areas, these people would see an increase in frequency (every 10 minutes during main part of the day).

To enable us to give this increased frequency, we propose not to serve a short stretch of Pen Park Road, where only one bus stop would be affected.

Similarly in the south of the city all current 77 journeys will be renumbered as 96 along with existing 76 journeys.

Justin Davies, Managing Director of First Bristol, Somerset & Avon, said, "We have widely considered these changes to ensure that the needs of our customers are met and the best service possible is provided. We believe these new proposals will provide a more reliable service for our customers in the longer term. However, no decisions have been made and we are keen to listen to and understand the views of our customers."

When First consulted on proposed changes to services in North and East Bristol, Chipping Sodbury, Yate, Winterbourne, Coalpit Heath, Frampton Cotterell and Iron Acton areas, feedback was taken into account and the plans changed as a result.

The public consultation about these proposals runs until 24 October 2008. First is publicising this with leaflets on buses and in Travel Shops. Customers can give their comments and opinions either by visiting our website www.firstgroup.com/haveyoursay/bristol or by writing to First, Have Your Say, Freepost 3782, Bristol BS5 0ZX.