73 | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Operator | First West of England |
Garage | Hengrove |
Vehicle |
|
Route | |
Start | Hengrove |
Via | Whitchurch Knowle Bristol Temple Meads Station City Centre Gloucester Road Lockleaze |
End | UWE Frenchay |
The 73 is a bus route that operates between Hengrove Depot and UWE Frenchay in Bristol. It is operated by First West of England.
On 1 February 2009, parts of the route that served the Ministry of Defence Abbey Wood facility, Filton High School, and a peak-hours only loop around Aztec West were all withdrawn in order to reduce journey times. [1] In 2010, the frequency during off-peak times was reduced from every 12 minutes to every 15 minutes. [2]
Route number 74 was introduced in 2012 as a replacement for several withdrawn routes. Like route 73, it ran between Cribbs Causeway and the city centre, however route 74 took a different route through Bradley Stoke. [3]
The former 74 bus route was merged with the 73 from 1 September 2013. The frequency of the combined route was a bus every 10 minutes during weekdays, every 15 minutes on Saturdays, and every 30 minutes on evenings and Sundays. [4]
From 31 August 2014, the service frequency was reduced from 10 minutes to 12 minutes. [5] From 4 September 2016, the peak service frequency was reduced from 12 minutes to 15 minutes and the route was extended to Temple Meads railway station. [6] [7]
In anticipation of a predicted drop in passenger numbers due to the introduction of MetroBus route m1 in January 2019, the route saw its frequency reduced to every 20 minutes. [8] [9] [10]
In July 2020, biomethane powered Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City CBG buses were introduced on the route. [11] [12]
In January 2021, Monday-Friday services between Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway railway station were withdrawn, resulting in a reduced frequency of 30 minutes in this section. [13]
From 30 January 2022, the route was shortened within Bradley Stoke by avoiding Baileys Court Road and Webbs Wood Road. [14] [15] [16] [17] From 22 January 2023, the northern section between Bradley Stoke and Cribbs Causeway was withdrawn following the introduction of the MetroBus route m4. [18] [19] In July 2023, it was announced that the route would be extended to Aztec West during non-peak times and would be combined with route 92, which ran between the city centre and Hengrove Park. [20]
In September 2022, the extended route 73 began operating, covering the former route 92 between Whitchurch and Temple Gate. [21] As a result, it no longer used biogas fuelled vehicles, as the responsibility for the route was transferred to Hengrove Depot, which did not have access to natural gas refuelling like the former depot, Lawrence Hill. It has since used primarily Wright Eclipse Geminis.
In September 2024, the route was again significantly altered, now being extended in the south to reach Hengrove Depot, and in the north it has been diverted to UWE Frenchay, having swapped the north end of its route with the 74 as part of major service changes enacted by First. [22]
The service is operated by First West of England. [11] The route formerly had a peak-times express numbered X73. [6] [23]
Bristol Parkway, on the South Wales Main Line, serves the villages of Stoke Gifford and Harry Stoke in South Gloucestershire, England. Despite its name, it is located in Gloucestershire rather than Bristol itself. It is 112 miles (180 km) from London Paddington. The station was opened in 1972 by British Rail. It is the third-most heavily used station in the West of England local authority area, after Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa. There are four platforms, and a well-equipped waiting area. The station is managed by Great Western Railway, who provide most of the trains at the station, with CrossCountry providing the rest.
South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern part of its area falls within the Greater Bristol urban area surrounding the city of Bristol.
Aztec West is a business park in South Gloucestershire, England, situated in the north of Bristol, near Bradley Stoke and Patchway. It is close to the M4 and M5 motorways and the Almondsbury Interchange. Adjacent is the A38 trunk road.
Stagecoach West is a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group.
First Greater Manchester is a bus operator in Greater Manchester. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, operating franchised Bee Network bus services on contract to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). The operator was once dominant in the northern areas of Greater Manchester, competing against Stagecoach Manchester, which was dominant in southern areas of the county; however in recent years it has scaled back its operations, now primarily serving the metropolitan boroughs of Oldham and Rochdale.
Bristol is a city in south west England, near the Bristol Channel coast, approximately 106 miles (170 km) west of London. Several factors have influenced the development of its transport network. It is a major centre of employment, retail, culture and higher education, has many historic areas, and has a history of maritime industry. The city has a population of 450,000, with a metropolitan area of 650,000, and lies at the centre of the former County of Avon, which includes many dormitory towns, and has a population of one million.
Stagecoach (South) Limited, trading as Stagecoach South, is a bus operator providing services in South East England as a subsidiary of Stagecoach. It operates services in Hampshire, Surrey, and Sussex with some routes extending into Brighton and Wiltshire. It operates 487 buses from eight depots.
The Harrogate Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield.
London Buses route 23 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Westbourne Park station and Aldwych, it is operated by RATP Dev Transit London.
Solent Blue Line Limited, trading under the name Bluestar, is a bus operator providing services in Southampton and the surrounding areas of Hampshire. It is a subsidiary of the Go South Coast sector of the Go-Ahead Group.
Hengrove is a suburb and council ward of Bristol, England, situated between Whitchurch, Knowle and Bishopsworth, running along both dual carriageways, Wells Road (A37) and Airport Road (A4174). The area of Knowle it adjoins is known as Knowle West.
First West of England is a bus operator providing services in Bristol, Bath, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Wiltshire. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
The Wilmslow Road bus corridor is a 5.5-mile-long section of road in Manchester that is served by a large number of bus services. The corridor runs from Parrs Wood to Manchester city centre along Wilmslow and Oxford Roads, serving Didsbury, Withington, Fallowfield and Rusholme.
Lextran is a public transportation bus system serving Lexington, Kentucky. Lextran operates 25 bus routes throughout the city of Lexington. Buses converge at the Downtown Transit Center located at 220 East Vine Street. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 3,901,900, or about 11,500 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
TM Travel is a bus operator based in Halfway, Sheffield, operating bus services in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Founded in 1995 as a family-owned operation with one bus, by March 2008 it had expanded to become the largest independent operator in Derbyshire. The company was taken over by the Wellglade Group in January 2010.
Carousel Buses Limited, trading as Carousel Buses, is a bus company based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Originally an independent company, it is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. It is grouped together with Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, both of Oxfordshire, and with Pulham's Coaches of Gloucestershire, with the fleets of each operator regularly interchanged.
MetroBus is a bus rapid transit system in Bristol, England, created as a joint project between Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils. The first route, service m3, began operations on 29 May 2018, followed by m2 on 3 September 2018, m1 on 6 January 2019 and m4 on 22 January 2023.
Abus is an English bus company based in Bristol that operates school bus services in Bath and Sainsbury's shopper buses around South Bristol.
Chaserider is the brand name for bus services operated around Cannock and Staffordshire by D&G Bus, a local bus operator owned by Centrebus who are based in Adderley Green, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
T1 is a bus route operated by First West of England that runs between Bristol and Thornbury.