Bus service changes in Bristol from April - including First Bus, Stagecoach, Transpora, Big Lemon

Bristol’s bus routes are set to undergo a major rearrangement next week as several bus providers operating in the city remove and add services.

First West of England (First Bus), Bristol’s largest operator, has already confirmed it will add more than 1,600 hours of bus journeys to routes in the city from April 1 while also withdrawing three services due to low passenger numbers.

Other bus operators are also making changes from next week, including The Big Lemon, Stagecoach and Transpora.

Big Lemon

Last year it stepped in to save four bus routes previously carried out by Bristol Community Transport after the company collapsed. The contract to operate these four services is due to expire on April 2 with just one route being extended.

The 505 route (Long Ashton Park and Ride to Southmead) will be placed in the hands of Stagecoach while the 506 (Southmead to Broadmead) and 516 (Broadwalk to Hengrove Park) routes will be withdrawn. The 515 (Imperial Park to Stockwood) service will continue and has been extended on a four-year contract.

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Stagecoach

In addition to the 505 route, the operatowill take on two new routes while also removing seven others and making changes to six existing journeys. All of these changes will come into effect on April 2.

Route 9 (new service) -> Brislington Park and Ride – Bristol City Centre – Portway Park and Ride. This service is a combination of the existing Brislington PR and Portway PR services, renamed service 9. Service 9 will run to a 12-minute frequency during peak times Monday to Friday.

Route 525 (new service) -> Yate - North Yate - Emersons Green (hourly). This is a new service operating hourly Monday to Saturday, Sundays and Bank Holidays The new route will be as follows:

Emersons Green – Shortwood – Pucklechurch – Westerleigh – Yate South – Westerleigh Road) – Yate Bus Station – North Yate (Church Road – Greenways Road – Eastfield Drive – Leechpool Way – Randolph Avenue – Wellington Road – Greenways – Cranleigh Court Road) – Station Road – Yate Bus Station.

Stagecoach will make changes to the following routes:

Route 10 – Southmead Hospital – Avonmouth. Timetable and route revised. The service will operate between Avonmouth and Southmead. Route 10 will no longer serve Thornbury and Aztec West. Journeys to Bristol Parkway, UWE Frenchay Campus and Severn Beach will be reduced to three a day.

Route 11 Southmead Hospital – Parkway. Timetable and route revised. The service will operate between Parkway and Southmead Hospital.

Route 12 Severn Beach – Cribbs Causeway – Bristol Parkway. Revised timetable with minor tweaks throughout, service frequency will remain the same. There are no changes to the route.

Route 13 Bristol City Centre – Shirehampton. Revised timetable with minor tweaks throughout, service frequency will remain the same.

Routes 84/85 – Yate – Wotton under Edge. Stagecoach has agreed to continue to operate this route for two months, there will be a revised timetable but the routes remain the same as now.

Route 86 Yate – Emerson’s Green – Kingswood. Revised timetable with minor tweaks throughout, service frequency will remain the same. There are no changes to the route.

Stagecoach will scrap the following seven services due to the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) withdrawing funding on April 1:

Route 513/514 – Knowle – Brislington 

Route 622 – Chipping Sodbury – Cribbs Causeway. WECA is looking for temporary operators to continue services 622 in the short term. 

Route 663/664/665 – Somerdale – Keynsham 

Route 948 – Pucklechurch – Oldland Common Sir Bernard Lovell School. Passengers on service 948 will be able to use the new on-demand‘WEST Link’ service to Digitech Studio School, Kings Oak Academy and Sir Bernard Lovell School from Pucklechurch and Shortwood – further information will be available on this service before launch. 

Stagecoach will also pass on the following services to operator Transpora Group

Route 680 – Yate – Filton College. We have been informed that this service will be operated by Transpora Group until the end of the academic year only 

Route 963 – Patchway – Winterbourne School. We have been informed that this service will be operated by Transpora Group for the end of this year and from the start of the new school year. 

Route 967 – Westleigh – Yate Brimsham Green School. We have been informed that this service will be operated by Transpora Group for the end of this year and from the start of the new school year.

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Transpora operator

Transpora has confirmed it will take on five new routes for passengers and make adjustments to the timetables of two existing journeys. It will add:

25 - City Centre to Horfield Common via St Pauls. From April 1, this route will be replacing the section of current route 47 between City Centre and Eastgate. It will operate between City Centre, St Pauls, Eastgate and Horfield Common with some journeys extended to Southmead Hospital.

680 - Yate to Filton. From April 17, this route was previously operated by Stagecoach West.

963 - Patchway to Winterbourne Academy. From April 17, this route was previously operated by Stagecoach West.

967 - Westerleigh to Yate. From April 17, this route was previously operated by Stagecoach West.

CP2 - Newport to Avonmouth. From April 17, operating between Bettws, Newport (South Wales) and Avonmouth - available to Co-op employees only.

Transpora will adjust the following timetables from April 1:

CP1 - Kingswood to Avonmouth.

52 - Cabot Circus to Hengrove Park. Following funding withdrawal, this service will operate a revised route and timetable and will no longer serve Hengrove Park. Route 52 will now operate between Broadmead and Imperial Park to a revised timetable.

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First West of England operator

First Bus has confirmed that it will axe three services and improve the frequency of more than 500 routes across Bristol.

Services to be withdrawn: The 23 (Bristol to Ashton Vale), 47 (Bristol to Yate) and 91 (Bristol to Hengrove) services will be axed on April 2.

All journeys on the following routes will be restored to: 1 (Broomhill to Cribbs Causeway), 2 (Cribbs Causeway to Stockwood), 3 and 4 (Cribbs Causeway to city centre), 8 (Temple Meads to Bristol Zoo), 24 (Southmead Hospital to Ashton Gate), 42 (Bitton to city centre), 43 (Cadbury Heath to city centre), 48 (Bristol to Emersons Green), 48a (UWE Frenchay Campus to city centre) , 49 (Emersons Green to city centre), 74 (Horfield to city centre), 75 and 76 (Hengrove to Cribbs Causeway, 90 and 92 (city centre to Hengrove).

For more information, click here