Bristol, Bath and the West

Performance statistics November 2008

These figures help us monitor performance and might help explain to our customers why a service may not have been running to time.

General traffic congestion, road traffic accidents, bad weather, road works and temporary lights are just some of the issues we face on a daily basis. We constantly monitor our services and conditions on the road, gathering information that will help us to run our services to time.

As a part of the monitoring process we constantly aim to achieve standards of punctuality and reliability set by Traffic Commissioners who are responsible for the regulation of the bus and coach services in the United Kingdom.

Punctuality refers to the percentage of buses that run on time. The required standard set by the Traffic Commissioner is 95% punctuality where a vehicle can be NO MORE than 1 minute early or 5 minutes late at any terminus point.

Reliability measures the actual mileage operated compared to the timetabled mileage.

The information contained here includes some of the major factors which have affected our ability to consistantly achieve the standards our customers should expect. We hope that you will find the information informative and helpful.

Our services are split into two areas - the urban ‘Bristol area and the ‘Somerset and Avon area. Somerset and Avon includes out-of-town services starting and finishing at Bristol Bus Station along with services in Weston-super-Mare, Bath, Wells, Bridgwater, Yeovil and Taunton.

Somerset and Avon

Punctuality across our Somerset and Avon services for the period was 92% with reliability performing at 99.6%.

Bath delivered a 91% punctual performance

Weston delivered a 93% punctual performance

Wells delivered a 90% punctual performance

Somerset delivered a 88% punctual performance

Major disruptions to service affecting service punctuality in Somerset and Avon included:

On Friday October 31 Road works on New Bristol Road, Weston-super-Mare causing delays all day, while delays on the M5 caused Service X25 to operate up to 40 minutes late.

Monday 3 November Queensway in Weston-super-Mare was closed following an accident, while in the evening a firework display at Puxton Park caused delays to Serviced 353.

All Taunton services were delayed on Tuesday 4 November after an accident in South Road.

On Wednesday 5 November High Littleton was closed following an accident, causing Services 178 and 179 to be delayed and diverted.

A lorry stuck under Yarnbrook Bridge meant Services 264 and 265 were unable to serve Yarnbrook on Thursday 6 November.

Friday 7 November saw delays in Bridgwater due to carnival preparations and long delays in Bath caused by the Southgate development.

On Saturday 8 November an accident in Melksham caused Services 272 and 273 to be diverted via by-pass.

Services in Yate, Bristol, Devises, Keynsham, Box, Corsham, Midsomer North and Bath were diverted and delayed due to Remembrance Day parades on Sunday 9 November.

Cowhorn Hill, Bristol was closed due to flooding on Monday 10 November, causing Service 319 to be diverted.

On Thursday 13 November, Bath city center was gridlocked due to building works at Southgate.

There were also delays in Chilcompton due to poor parking.

Services 272 and 273 were diverted at Shaw for most of the day on Saturday 15 November due to a fire.

Bristol

The punctuality of our Bristol services for the period was 82%, with reliability of 98.8%

Major disruptions to service affecting punctuality included:

Significant delays in the Clifton area due to fireworks display at Bristol Zoo on Wednesday 5 November

Services were delayed following an accident in the Centre on Friday 7 November, with emergency services blocking two lanes.

Services 4, 5 and 48 were also delayed due to fireworks display at King George VI playing fields at Downend.

Services were diverted in central Bristol on Sunday 9 November due to Remembrance service parades.

Police closed coronation Road on Monday 10 November. Affected services were diverted via Bedminster Parade, Malago Road and Sheene Lane.

A burst water main meant Quay Street was closed on Tuesday November 11. Affected services were diverted via Baldwin Street and Union Street.

On Monday 17 November and Tuesday 18 November Cumberland Road was also closed due to a burst water main. This caused severe delays to services, particularly Services 20/21, 52, 75/75A, 77 and 90.

Also on Tuesday 18 November, an accident on the M5 northbound junction 13 led to delays on the A38 north of Bristol into the evening peak.

A lorry carrying bricks overturned near the M4 bridge on Tuesday 25 November. Traffic was diverted via M4 to junction 18.

On Wednesday 26 November temporary traffic lights at Muller Road caused long delays during the afternoon and evening peak with congestion affecting Bristol city centre, M32, Fishponds Road, Ashley Down Road, Montpelier, Eastville, Muller Road and surrounding area. Severe disruption was experienced on Services 4, 5, 24, 25, 48, 49, 70, 73.