All change on the buses - the slow way home?

First Bus are proposing major changes to bus routes and timetables between Bristol and Yate and Chipping Sodbury, affecting services to Frampton Cotterell, Coalpit Heath, Winterbourne and other communities on the route.

Some places will get more frequent buses, but some will get fewer or none at all. The express “X” services will be withdrawn, and none of these buses will go down the M32, making journeys longer.

Local Liberal Democrat councillors say that First’s consultation is totally inadequate. There’s not enough information – people need to know how much longer the new journey times will be. Current timetables show that in the evening rush hour the X42 and X30 services take 39 minutes to get from Bristol Bus Station to Yate. The comparable 342 and 328 routes take 46 and 52 minutes respectively, so we could see daily journeys taking up to a third longer.

Cllr Sue Hope (Cotswold Edge) said “"What is proposed is a cut in services - including the express service to Bristol - with nothing to replace it. These proposals make a huge hole in any decent public transport system between Yate and Bristol"

Cllr Claire Young (Westerleigh) commented “There is simply not enough information in the consultation leaflet for people to work out what impact these changes would have. I urge First Bus to provide more details and extend the consultation period to allow local people to have a real say about these changes”.

First Bus have not contacted town and parish councils as yet. They have spoken to South Gloucestershire Council, who told them to that the X-services were vital for commuters and that abandoning them would only encourage people to drive to work or use the already crowded (but cheaper) rail service. However First is still proposing to withdraw the X-services.

Maybe First need more competition at peak times - for example, the new efficient UWE buses have hit First’s passenger numbers hard on services between Frenchay and central Bristol.

We notice that Downend will be keeping its X service. That’s because local people organised a protest recently. It's important that everyone tells First what they think via the bus company's website or by writing to Have Your Say, Freepost 3782, Bristol BS5 0ZX. The closing date of their consultation is 25 May - only just over a fortnight away - but we're trying to get them to extend their deadline so that more people can have their say.

Please contact your local councillor as well - see the "Local Focus Team" link in the right hand column. We know that some people will think the proposals are an improvement, and some will think it's a bad idea. Please let us know what you think.
More details for our area are available from First Bus here.