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Direct service from Whiteladies to Gloucester Road among new bus routes
A long-awaited bus route connecting Whiteladies Road to Gloucester Road is to be introduced by First Bus.
The new 77 service is due to connect Henleaze to Gloucester Road via the city centre, and will be the only route to directly link Stokes Croft and Whiteladies Road with the city centre, running every 30 minutes at peak time.
The new route is one of three new cross-city bus routes which will be introduced as part of a package of changes from the bus operator due to come into effect in April.
is needed now More than ever
A new 41 service will connect Kingswood and east Bristol with Sea Mills, Shirehampton and Avonmouth, resulting in journeys between Avonmouth and the city centre taking less than half an hour.
The service will operate every 30 minutes during peak times every day and will provide more buses on one of Bristol’s busiest routes.
A new 5 service between St Anne’s and Clifton will replace the current 36 service from the city centre to St Anne’s, and will be extended to take in the centre before heading to Clifton up Park Street.
It will operate every day and provide journeys into the evening, running alongside the 8 service which currently connects Temple Meads to Clifton to provide extra capacity on the busy bus route.
The three new cross-city routes will come into effect on April 7, joining two others introduced in October last year.
The new 77 service will connect Whiteladies Road to Gloucester Road via the city centre – photo: Betty Woolerton
The head of network at First Bus, George Burton, said the new changes have come after “listening to our customers, local residents and working with local councils”.
“We’ve also been able to work closely with the West of England Combined Authority to consider introducing new routes without the need for public funding,” he said.
A new bus route is also being reintroduced to serve Ashton Vale via South Liberty Lane, providing a route to Southmead Hospital every 15 minutes at peak times, and a new half-hourly 47 service connecting Oldbury Court Estate with Fishponds Road, Stapleton Road, Broadmead and the city centre.
These new services are being introduced following discussions with the West of England Combined Authority and concerns from local residents, after they were cut from the Bristol network in recent years because of underusage and a driver shortage as a result of the pandemic, First Bus said.
Burton added: “After the pandemic we had to make some tough decisions about our network, some of which were affected by a drop in passenger numbers as well as pressure on funding and our own resources, such as driver availability.
“We’re now firmly in a post-pandemic recovery, and following a successful recruitment campaign our driver numbers have increased, and we’re seeing great signs that people are returning to bus travel and new people are using the bus.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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