Bristol buses: The 13 best and worst bus routes, as chosen by Bristolians

However, some of the Bristol buses are infamously known to be unreliable, with cancellations, delays and even ‘ghost buses’ that appear on bus stop display screens and the bus app and then mysteriously vanish into thin air.

Last week we asked readers to share their experiences of the city’s buses.

Scroll through to learn about the best and worst bus routes in Bristol according to readers.

The best bus routes in Bristol

9 Bus

The 9 bus route from Portway Park & Ride to Brislington Park & Ride run by Stagecoach has been praised by some users.

Yanique Grant said: “9 is amazing. Drivers are lovely, bus is very frequent and reliable.

“It’s clean and it’s even better now it goes to Brislington Park & Ride.

“I used to doubt the reliability when it replaced the First Bus side of it it but it’s a lot better than I thought.”

M1 Bus

The M1 Metrobus was praised by readers.

The bus connects Cribbs Causeway to Hengrove Park.

It passes through Bristol city centre, taking passengers from either end of the city into the city centre.

41 Bus

The 41 bus route from Avonmouth to Kingswood has been praised by some users.

Yanique Grant commented: “Since the 41 got introduced it’s been more on time and has helped me get home more than the 3/4 combined.

“It goes on the Portway and it’s a fairly nice and direct route, saving time transferring to another bus going into Stapleton Road.”

Although some Bristolians wished it also stopped at Cribbs Causeway.

M2 Bus

Some readers praised the M2 Metrobus.

The bus connects Long Ashton Park & Ride to the City Centre via Ashton Vale.

It operates from Monday to Saturday.

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The worst bus routes in Bristol

75 Bus

The 75 bus route from Cribbs Causeway to Hengrove was criticized by multiple users.

Holly Woodley commented: “75 is the worst without a doubt. Often cancelled, or not doing full route... Always packed, and full of character.”

Yanique Grant added: “It always used to be late when I used to go to college in Filton so had to resort to relying on T2 and Y6 a lot more than needed to (this was before Y6 became 2-hourly and the T2 got dropped).

“Now it’s still unreliable. Even worse for those in South Bristol.”

73 Bus

The 73 bus service’s routes has been changed three times within two years.

The route now operates between Bristol Temple Meads and Cribbs Causeway.

It travels via City Centre, Gloucester Road, Filton Avenue, Bristol Parkway Station, Bradley Stoke and Patchway.

6 and 7 Bus Routes

The 6 bus service operates between the City Centre and Kingswood.

Whilst the Bristol Bus 7 runs from City Centre to Staple Hill via Old Market and Speedwell.

Paul Holmes commented: “6 or 7 turns up when they want.”

42 Bus

The 42 bus service operates from the centre to Cherry Gardens.

It received some criticisms from readers.

Cathy Kirby said: “Always see them when not needed and not reliable when they are.”

3 and 4 Bus Routes

The number 3 and 4 buses also faced some criticism.

They operate from the City centre to Cribbs Causeway.

They connect Cribbs Causeway, Henbury, Lawrence Weston, Shirehampton, Redland, Broadmead and the City Centre.

1 and 2 Bus Routes

The Bristol bus 1 operates from Cribbs Causeway Bus Station to to Whitmore Avenue in Broomhill.

Whilst the 2 bus service operates from Cribbs Causeway Bus Station to the The Coots in Stockwood.

Both routes connect Henbury, Westbury-on-Trym, Redland, the Centre and Temple Meads Station.