Bristol, Bath and the West

Service changes in Bristol, from 27 September 2009

A number of bus service changes, largely designed to improved punctuality and reliability, are due to be introduced from Sunday 27 September. In addition, following consultation with bus users earlier this year, some more significant changes to Services 8, 9, 24 and 25 are now being implemented.

Alongside the changes being made by First, Bristol City Council is also making some changes to tendered services; these have been detailed separately.

Changes from Sunday 27 September 2009 (being made by First)

Service 1 (Cribbs Causeway " Broomhill) " the Sunday timetable has been simplified so that it matches that used on bank holidays. In practice this means that there will be nine extra journeys on Sundays going forward, meaning local people have more opportunities to travel to and from Cribbs Causeway.
Service 4 (city centre " Downend) " the timetable has been altered slightly to improve punctuality and reliability. In addition, the 2317 Sunday journey, which currently runs from Downend to Frenchay, Begbrook Park, is being extended to run to the Eastgate Centre. Finally, Service 4 will no longer use the Broadmead, Horsefair bus stop (Sp) using the Broadmead, Penn Street (C) stop instead.

Service 5 (city centre " Downend) " the timetable has been altered slightly to improve punctuality and reliability, although some morning and evening peak journeys, specifically the 08.07, 08.37, 16.23, 17.23, 18.35 from the Centre, and the 07.56 and 09.25 from Downend, are being withdrawn. Services will now run at least every 30 minutes throughout the whole day (Monday " Saturday).

Service 6 (city centre " Kingswood " Longwell Green) " the timetable has been altered so that buses are more equally spaced throughout peak periods (every 15 minutes Monday " Saturday). The changes mean that some peak journeys, specifically the 08.35, 17.18, 17.30 from the centre, and the 07.10, 07.30, 16.26 and 17.54 from Kingwood, have been withdrawn.

Service 7 (city centre " Staple Hill) " the time table has been altered slightly so that buses during the peak period are more evenly spaced, and the terminus point and route around Staple Hill has been changed to reduce the bottleneck effect that can be caused by buses waiting on Soundwell Road and at the Staple Hill Portcullis stop. From 27 September buses will start and finish at the Staple Hill Garage Bus stop on Broad Street, before running along Hill House Road, South View, Park Road, Broad Street, Soundwell Road, Morley Road, Stanley Park Road from where they will join the original route around New Cheltenham before heading into the city centre. This route change means buses will no longer call on Teewell Hill, or travel along Gloucester Road. The impact on customers is expected to be positive as while customers from Teewell Hill can walk up to Broad Street to board buses, those living around Page Park and on Morley Road will now have direct access to more buses. The overall frequency of buses will remain the same Monday " Saturday.

Service X7 (Bristol " Clevedon) " following customer requests from 27 September customers will be able to board / alight at stops at Summerhouse and on Orchard Avenue in Tickenham.
Services 8 and 9 (Temple Meads " Redland / Clifton) " Services 8a and 9a - which only ever covered half the route of the 8s and 9s, have been withdrawn, to be replaced by improved Services 8 and 9. The timetables for both routes have been simplified to provide evenly spaced, five minute departures from Temple Meads station (Mon " Sat), with alternate departures from the station serving Redland and Clifton respectively (this is a significant improvement in service). Sunday services have also been improved. The route of Services 8 and 9 has also been altered slightly with buses now running via Blackboy Hill along Redland Road, Redland Hill and Whiteladies Road. Following consultation, more time has been allowed in the timetable to deal with any congestion along Redland Hill. Finally, the route of the last bus from Temple Meads (2330 hrs Mon - Sat) has been extended slightly, making Blackboy Hill the terminus point rather than Clifton Down. This means customers living towards the top of Whiteladies Road will no longer have to walk as far late at night. All changes to Services 8 and 9 were made in consultation with local residents.

Services 24 / 25 (Muller Road " Ashton Vale) " the timetable has been changed to improve punctuality and reliability, and the route of services around both Lockleaze and Southville is being changed to ensure all buses go the same way. The route change also means that buses will no longer have to negotiate very narrow, congested streets in parts of the city, and people living along parts of North Street and Duckmoor Road will benefit from increased frequency of services.
Specifically, from 27 September buses in Lockleaze will run along Muller Road, Shaldon Road, Romney Avenue, Gainsborough Square, Bonnington Walk, Wordsworth Road, Lockleaze Road, Filton Avenue and Muller Road, before terminating at the Muller Road Bus Depot (NB This change provides much needed links to the Horfield Health Centre, Filton Avenue Infant and Junior Schools, direct connections between Filton Avenue, Lockleaze and the Eastgate Centre, and improved connections with Service 73, for Cribbs Causeway and Parkway Railway Station). In Southville, services will run along Duckmoor Road, Ashton Road, North Street and Dean Lane, rather than calling on Luckwell Road, Raleigh Road, Beauley Road and Greville Street. This change will provide a 10 minute frequency along Duckmoor Road and North Street. Finally, in the city centre, Services 24 and 25 will now call at the Broadmead Penn Street bus stop (C) " which is closer to Cabot Circus than the stop that was previously used.

Service X27 (Bristol " Yate) " the timetable has been altered slightly to improve punctuality and reliability.

Service 48 / 49 (city centre " Emersons Green) " the timetables have been changed slightly, affecting departures during the morning and evening peak. The bus stop used in the city centre has also been changed; from 27 September buses will call at Broadmead Penn Street (stop C), which is slightly closer to Cabot Circus than the stop previously used.

Service 51 (city centre " Rookery Farm) " the timetables have been changed slightly to ensure buses are more evenly spaced, and that services are more punctual and reliable. Customers are advised to check the new timetables (available from mid Sept) as some departure times have changed by up to eight minutes.

Service 52 (Hengrove " Inns Court) - Aside from some earlier morning journeys from Inns Court to Broadmead (which are financially supported by Bristol City Council), all journeys on Service 52 between Inns Court and Broadmead will be withdrawn from 27 September. Instead customers living in Inns Court and Filwood Park will be able to use Service 90, the new Service 91 or Services 36, 51, 20 or 21 to access the city centre.

Service 54 / 54A (Cribbs Causeway " Stockwood) " the Sunday timetable has been simplified so that it matches that used on bank holidays. In practice this means that there will be number of extra Sunday journeys going forward, meaning local people have more opportunities to travel. In addition the Monday " Saturday timetable has been revised with most evening departure times operating 15 minutes later. In essence this means that the last bus will now leave later, and that buses between Whiteladies Road and Temple Meads (the part of the route Service 54 shares with Service 1) will be more evenly spaced. This is in direct response to customer demand.

Service X73 (city centre " Stoke Lodge) " the timetable has been altered to improve punctuality and reliability and the buses will now be more evenly spaced across each hour. The route of the X73 has also been extended from Bradley Stoke Caravan Park to Stoke Lodge, to reflect the journey made by Service 73. Similarly the route around Stoke Gifford (near Parkway Railway Station) has been changed to allow buses to take advantage of the new bus link from New Road to Brierly Furlong.

Service 75 / 76 (Hartcliffe " Cribbs Causeway / Henbury) " the timetable has been altered slightly to improve punctuality and reliability. Evening bus journeys on Service 75 have also been extended to call at The Venue, Cribbs Causeway.

Service 90 (Broadmead " Hengrove depot) " the bus stop used in Broadmead is changing. From 27 Sept, Service 90 will use the Horsefair (Sp) stop " which is closer to Cabot Circus.

Service 91 (Broadmead " Broad Walk Square) " From 27 September we will run a new hourly service connecting Broad Walk Square to the city centre and Broadmead, this service will run along Daventry Road, Leinster Avenue, Novers Hill and Bedminster Road, before following the same route as Service 90. The development of this brand new service is in direct response to customer demand, and consultation with Dawn Primarolo MP and local community groups.

Service 342 / X42 (Bristol " Chipping Sodbury) " the timetable has been altered slightly to improve journey times between Bristol and Chipping Sodbury. Journey times in the late evening have been decreased by just under ten minutes (end to end).

Service 354 (Bristol " Nailsea) " the timetable has been altered slightly. Specifically the 07.42 journey from Bristol will now depart five minutes earlier (following customer requests) and the journey time for late evening services has been reduced by around nine minutes.

Changes being made by Bristol City Council

Service 5 & 7 (city centre " Downend / city centre " Staple Hill) " all Sunday journeys, which were previously tendered by Bristol City Council, have been withdrawn.

Service 52 (Hengrove " Highridge - Broadmead) all evening and Sunday services, which were previously tendered by Bristol City Council, have been withdrawn.

Justin Davies, Managing Director of First Bristol, Somerset & Avon, says: "The changes being made from Sunday 27 September are designed to improve the punctuality and reliability of a number of services, while also ensuring that buses are as evenly spaced as possible on key corridors. The introduction of a new Service 91 means that customers in Knowle West now have more opportunities to travel. The development of this service is as a direct result of consultation with Dawn Primarolo MP and community groups in the area, and I hope it will be welcomed, and the new service well used.

"It is unfortunate that some Sunday and evening services have been lost as a result of the reduction of tendered services by Bristol City Council; sadly this is not a decision we can influence, nor is it possible to run these services commercially as few people actually use them. Alternative bus services do cover parts of the routes served by Services 5, 7 and 52 though, so where possible, we would urge customers wishing to travel on Sundays / in the evenings, to use those instead.'

For more information about local bus services, or First Bristol, Somerset & Avon, log onto: www.firstgroup.com/ukbus (pick Bristol, Bath and the west from the drop down menu). Alternatively for impartial bus information call Travelline on 0871 200 22 33

Services in the Inns Court area from September 27

Changes to Service 7 in Staple Hill



Notes to Editors
· For more information contact: Karen Baxter, PR Manager (South West & Wales), First UK Bus, on 0117 373 6470 / 07894 785155 or email: Karen.Baxter@firstgroup.com.
· First Bristol, Somerset & Avon carries around 55 million passengers each year on a network of more than 100 routes. It has depots in Bristol, Bath, Taunton, Bridgwater, Yeovil, Wells and Weston-super-Mare. As a company, First is committed to delivering a safe, reliable and punctual service for its customers. The company operates 750 vehicles and employs 2000 people.
· FirstGroup plc is the worlds leading transport company with revenues of over £6 billion a year. It employs over 136,000 staff throughout the UK and North America and transports more than 2.5 billion passengers a year.
· The Group is Britains largest bus operator running more than one in five of all local bus services. A fleet of nearly 9,000 buses carries 3 million passengers a day in more than 40 major towns and cities.