Bristol, Bath and the West

Performance statistics January - March 2009

This information helps us monitor performance and aims to 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 timing 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 consistently achieve the standards our customers should expect. We hope that you will find it informative and helpful.

Our services are split into two broad operating 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.

January

Punctuality across our Somerset and Avon services for the period was 94% with reliability at 99.7%.

Bath delivered a 94% punctual performance

Weston delivered a 96% punctual performance

Wells delivered a 93% punctual performance

Somerset delivered a 94% punctual performance

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

Penel Orlieu in Bridgwater was closed was closed for six days from 5 January, which meant services could not operate via High Street.
Shaftesbury town centre was closed for six weeks, meaning Services 58, 58A had to terminate at Somerfield Car Park.
Traffic congestion in Bath caused delays on several days during the month, including Friday 16 January, Monday 19 January and Saturday 24 January.
Hutton Moor Road in Weston-super-Mare closed for road works from 19 January to 28 January, with Services 13, 14, 121 and 126 diverted inbound to Weston-super-Mare.
An accident on Yeovil College roundabout on Monday 5 January caused delays to Services 2, 3 and 52.
On the same day an overturned lorry on the M5 caused delays to Services 309, 310, 318 and 319.
On Thursday 8 January temporary traffic lights at Bitton caused delays of up to 24 minutes to Services 319 and 332.
A lorry also blocked Combe Down Village, with delays of up to 25 minutes to Service 2.
On Tuesday 13 January an accident under the motorway bridge at Junction 25, A358, caused delays to Services 27, 30, 30A and 54.
Dense fog around Bath caused delays to all services Wednesday 14 January.
On Saturday 17 January a fallen tree blocked the road at Flax Bourton, with delays to Services X1, 350, 353, 362 and 364.
On Wednesday 21 January icy road conditions caused delays to services in Dulverton, Wiveliscombe, Chippenham and Swineford.

The punctuality of our Bristol services for the period was 83% with reliability of 99.1%.

Major disruptions to service affecting punctuality included:

Patchway Viaduct was closed southbound for repairs, this affected
Services 73/73A/73B, 75/75A, 309, 310, 318, 319 and 482.
The M32 was closed northbound by the Highways Agency on Tuesday 6 January for inspection of the road surface. Affected services were diverted via the A4174.
On Wednesday 7 January the M5 was closed due to an overturned car transporter. There were severe delays at Cribbs Causeway, Avonmouth, Shirehampton, Sea Mills and the central area. Services were diverted via the Portway and the A370.
A traffic incident at Monks Park Avenue on Thursday 15 January meant the road was closed for just over an hour, causing services to be diverted.
On Friday 16 January services were delayed by inconsiderate parking on Gloucester Road.
St Paul's Road was closed due to a burst water main on Sunday 18 January causing Service 8 to be diverted.
There was heavy traffic congestion around Filton and Gloucester Road due to a football match on Saturday 24 January.

February

Punctuality across our Somerset and Avon services for the period was 92% with reliability at 95.9%.

Bath delivered a 92% punctual performance

Weston delivered a 93% punctual performance

Wells delivered a 88% punctual performance

Somerset delivered a 92% punctual performance

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

Snow and ice casued severe distruption to services in the week commencing Monday 2 February across our whole operating area. In some parts of Somerset and Avon disruptions continued until Wednesday 11 February.
Drainage works at Wotton Road in Charfield affected services 309 and 310.
Traffic congestion affected services in Bath on several days, including Friday 13 February and Saturday 14 February.
On Monday 16 February a lorry fire on the M5 led to partial closure and serious traffic congestion in Taunton.
On Friday 20 February and Saturday 21 February roadworks on London Road, Bath caused delays to all services.

The punctuality of our Bristol services for the period was 82% with reliability of 94.7%.

Major disruptions to service affecting punctuality included:

Snow and ice casued severe distruption to services from Monday 2 February through to Saturday 7 February, across our whole operating area.
Patchway Viaduct was closed southbound for repairs, this affected
Services 73/73A/73B, 75/75A, 309, 310, 318, 319 and 482.
Gas mains works in East Street, Bedminster affected services 52, 75, 76 and 90.
Gas main installation works Gloucester Road and Zetland Road affected services 70, 75 76, 77, 309 and 310.
On Wednesday 4 February Service 48 was delayed at Stapleton Road by a lorry blocking the road.
On Sunday 8 February Traffic lights at Hambrook malfunctioned, causing delays to Service 4.
Traffic lights problems and a broken down vehicle at the Callington Road/Bath Road junction caused long delays on Wednesday 11 February.
On Tuesday 17 February there was traffic congestion around Muller Road and Gloucester Road due to a football match. Service 25, 20 and 73 experienced delays.
On Saturday 21 February an illegally parked van at Moravian Road caused a significant delay to Service 43.

March

Punctuality across our Somerset and Avon services for the period was 93% with reliability at 99.7%.

Bath delivered a 93% punctual performance

Weston delivered a 95% punctual performance

Wells delivered a 91% punctual performance

Somerset delivered a 93% punctual performance

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

Shaftesbury town centre was closed until 16 March with Services 58, 58A terminating at Somerfield car park.
Until 4 April temporary traffic lights on Kelston Road, Bath caused delays to Services 319 and 332.
From 16 March to 3 April Wotton Road in Charfield was closed, with service 310 diverted via Wickwar.
On Wednesday 18 March Quantock Road, Weston-super-Mare was blocked by a broken down lorry for several hours. Services 4, 5 and 5A were diverted.
Bath services were affected by heavy congestion on several days, including Wednesday 18 March, Thursday 19 March and Saturday 21 March.
On Wednesday 25 March heavy traffic at Cribbs Causeway caused delays of over an hour on Services 318, 319 and 337.

The punctuality of our Bristol services for the period was 84% with reliability of 99.4%.

Major disruptions to service affecting punctuality included:

Patchway Viaduct was closed southbound for repairs, this affected
Services 73/73A/73B, 75/75A, 309, 310, 318, 319 and 482.
Gas mains works in East Street, Bedminster affected services 52, 75, 76 and 90.
Gas main installation works Gloucester Road and Zetland Road affected services 70, 75 76, 77, 309 and 310.
On Tuesday 10 March there was heavy traffic congestion in south Bristol due to a football match.
An articulated lorry broke down in Parson Street/West Street, blocking the end of bus lane on Wednesday 11 March. Service 76 inbound was diverted via Bedminster Road onto Bedminster Down Road.
On Friday 13 March a broken down vehicle blocked Clyde Road in both directions, causing delays to Service 8. Buses were diverted via Redland Road, Redland Hill and Blackboy Hill in both directions.
The A38 was closed southbound near Patchway roundabout for an hour due to an overturned vehicle on Friday 20 March. This caused delays to Service 75, 76, 309, 310, 318 and 319.
On Tuesday 24 March a scaffolding lorry in East Street restricted traffic flow causing delays to services in the area.