Buses are the main form of public transport in Bristol, England. Most bus services are operated by First West of England. Other companies offering services include Abus, Citistar, The Big Lemon, Transpora Bus, Stagecoach West and Newport Bus.
Buses are the main form of public transport in Bristol, England. Most bus services are operated by First West of England. Other companies offering services include Abus, Citistar, The Big Lemon, Transpora Bus, Stagecoach West and Newport Bus.
Horse-bus services in Bristol were started in 1887 by the Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company, with a service from the Victoria Rooms (connecting with the trams) to Clifton. [1] [2] The horse-buses were replaced by motor buses from 1906, first on a service from the city centre to Clifton. [3]
From 1887 to 1986, Bristol Tramways (renamed Bristol Omnibus Company in 1957) had an almost complete monopoly of bus services in and from Bristol. The exceptions were in the 1920s, when Greyhound Motors provided competition until taken over by Bristol Tramways in 1928; a few small independent operators, the last of which, the Dundry Pioneer, was acquired in 1950; and Red & White Services, which started joint services with Bristol Omnibus Company to South Wales when the Severn Bridge opened in 1966.
Between 1937 and 1978 Bristol Omnibus Company was the operating partner in Bristol Joint Service (BJS) a joint undertaking with Bristol Corporation which controlled bus services within the city (and initially also its trams). [4] [5] The company owned and operated the buses, and shared revenues with the Corporation. BJS included services to suburbs outside the city limits (e.g. Filton, Patchway, Staple Hill and Kingswood).
Bus services expanded steadily between the wars. Between 1938 and 1941 Bristol's tramways were abandoned, and buses replaced the tram routes. [6]
Bristol Tramways was state-owned from 1948. Expansion of services continued, to serve the new estates built on the edges of the city. But from 1954 passenger numbers started to decline. [2] Most services started from the Centre, Prince Street or Old Market, although the tram replacement services started between 1938 and 1941 were mostly cross-city routes. In 1958 routes were linked, so that almost all routes ran across the city. This was to reduce congestion caused by standing buses in the central area, and also to provide better access to the new Broadmead shopping area.
In 1969 the company, now known as Bristol Omnibus Company, was transferred to the National Bus Company.
By 1973, growing congestion was again creating delays and unreliable timing on the long cross-city routes, and some services were again split. [7] In 1978 the end of Bristol Joint Services enabled city services to be linked with routes in the eastern suburbs which were well outside the city boundaries. In 1981, limited stop express services were started to the outer suburbs, [8] initially under the Clipper brand. Also in 1981 the NBC's Market Analysis Project [9] triggered more changes, with the abandonment of some long-established routes.
In 1980 the Thatcher government embarked on a programme of privatisation and deregulation of bus services. In preparation the company was split into two operating units in 1983: the city services, which in 1985 adopted the brand Bristol City Line, and the country services, which in 1986 became a separate company, Badgerline Limited. [10] Badgerline was sold to its management in 1986, [11] and the original company was sold in 1987 to Midland Red West, who kept the City Line brand. [12]
Deregulation meant that Badgerline was able to begin bus services within the city, in competition with City Line. However, in 1988 Midland Red West was itself acquired by Badgerline, so that Bristol's bus services were again controlled by a single company.
In 1995 Badgerline merged with GRT Group to become FirstBus, later renamed FirstGroup. [13] First adopted a policy of common branding, and the City Line and Badgerline brands were dropped.
In 1998 bus services were extended to serve the new out of town shopping centre at Cribbs Causeway, where a new bus station was built.
A few small independent operators have competed with Badgerline, City Line and FirstGroup since deregulation. Bugler Coaches ran a few tendered local services from 1988. Abus began with a competing service to Keynsham in 1991. South Gloucestershire Bus & Coach built up a small network of local services from 1997 until it was taken over in 2007 by Wessex Bus. However, the independents have been unable to shake the dominance of FirstGroup.
Long distance coach services are provided from Bristol by National Express and Megabus. Previously Bakers Dolphin operated a service to London.
Buses were first operated in Bristol in 1887 by the Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company, a company which still operates, after several changes of name, as First Somerset & Avon. [14] The company had an almost complete monopoly of bus services in the city until deregulation in 1986. Since then there has been a variety of operators.
Between 2016/17 and 2021/22 the distance covered by Bristol buses fell by 30%. [15]
 | This section needs to be updated.(October 2019) |
The four councils in the Greater Bristol area are working to improve bus transport on ten corridors, designated the Greater Bristol Bus Network. The corridors are due for completion by 2012. [16]
MetroBus is a network of three express bus routes which serves many areas of Bristol. The T1 connects Bristol to Thornbury.
 |
The main operator of long distance coach services from Bristol is National Express, departing from Bristol bus station. But Megabus also operate long distance services. Special services operate to sporting venues such as Twickenham Stadium and Wembley Stadium for major sporting events. Megabus operates four services that serve Bristol, they stop opposite the Colston Hall, City Centre and at University of West England Frenchay. They provide direct services to and from London, The South West, South Wales and The Midlands. Tickets are also available to through destinations such as Paris and Brussels with a change in London.
Prior to 24 March 2013 there were 6 night buses (N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6) running across the Bristol area every Saturday and Sunday morning midnight until 6am operated by Wessex Bus, this was at a cost of £40,000 a year to Bristol City Council. This agreement was subsequently replaced by Bristol City Council to subsidise First Bristol to run buses 6 nights a week with an initial subsidy of £60,000 with a view to First taking on the services on a commercial basis once they become established. [17] Late night services formerly ran on the following routes. 43 City Centre to Kingswood (24/7) 48 City Centre to Downend (24/7) 49 City Centre to Staple Hill (24/7) 70 UWE Frenchay to City Centre (24/7) 75/76 Cribbs Causeway to Hengrove (24/7) [18] [19]
Night services were withdrawn during the COVID-19 pandemic. [20]
Currently there are three park & ride services operating in Bristol these are, to the city centre from the A4 Portway, A4 Bath Road and Long Ashton park & ride car parks. The sites are operational all year round from Monday to Saturday. [21]
Two smaller Park & Ride sites are served by local bus services rather than a dedicated P&R bus service. These sites are:
There have also been plans from Bristol City Council to build a fourth park and ride site just off the M32 near Stapleton, [22] although as of March 2012 [update] no development has started. The 903 has been renumbered and re-routed as number m2 metrobus.
The Airport Flyer (A1) operates a frequent service on one route from Bristol bus station, Bristol city centre and Temple Meads station to Bristol Airport. [23] The A2 no longer runs from Bristol but has in part replaced the withdrawn 121, running from Weston-super-Mare, through Nailsea and to the airport. The above services are operated by First West of England respectively. The A4 runs from Bath to the airport and is operated by Bath Bus Company using a mixture of three types of double decker.
In October 2018, the A1 service was re-routed along the guided busway in South Bristol. The previous route through Bedminster is operated by a new service A2 branded as Air Connect which runs every 30 minutes. The A2 uses the bus stops on The Haymarket as its start/terminus points in the city instead of the bus station. [24]
The Greater Bristol Bus Network (GBBN) also known as showcase bus routes are being developed by First in partnership with local government, to improve services with new buses, real time passenger information systems and traffic management measures.
The Bristol bus station is at Marlborough Street, near the Broadmead shopping area. It was opened in 1958, and was redeveloped in 2006.
The station is managed by First West of England. There are 19 bays. The station has a First Travel shop, National Express shop, National Express information desk, a café, shop, security office and toilets.
The bus station is used by the Bristol Airport Flyer service to the airport, most First Somerset & Avon express (X) and country services, and Stagecoach South West services to Taunton, Exeter and Plymouth. National Express services, as well as some services by other operators to destinations such as Yate and Cheddar, also use the station.
Eastern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. was a bus and coach operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland and a subsidiary of the Scottish Bus Group. Eastern Scottish was formed in June 1985 from the main part of Scottish Omnibuses Ltd., which had itself traded as 'Eastern Scottish' since the 1960s. Following privatisation in 1990 the company traded as 'SMT' reviving the original name of the company. It operated until 1994, when it became part of GRT Bus Group plc.
Fife Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, is a bus operating company part of Stagecoach East Scotland based in Dunfermline, Scotland.
Badgerline was a bus operator in and around Bristol from 1985 until 2003. Its headquarters were in Weston-super-Mare. Initially a part of the Bristol Omnibus Company, it was privatised in September 1986 and sold to Badgerline Holdings in a management buyout. It went on to purchase a number of bus companies in England and Wales. In November 1993, Badgerline Group was listed on the stock exchange and, on 16 June 1995, it merged with the GRT Group to form FirstBus.
Transport in Sheffield, England is developed around the city's unusual topography and medieval street plan. Once an isolated town, the transport infrastructure changed dramatically in the 19th and 20th centuries. The city now has road and rail links with the rest of the country, and road, bus and trams for local transport.
Bristol Tramways operated in the city of Bristol, England from 1875, when the Bristol Tramways Company was formed by Sir George White, until 1941 when a Luftwaffe bomb destroyed the main power supply cables.
Buchanan bus station is the main bus terminus in Glasgow, Scotland.
First Cymru is an operator of bus services in South West Wales. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup with its headquarters in Swansea.
Buses in Swindon have been the major method of public transport in the region since the beginning of the 20th century. Introduced in 1927 and replacing the tram system in 1929, the area is now served by numerous operators.
Sir George White, 1st Baronet (1854–1916), was an English businessman and stockbroker based in Bristol. He was instrumental in the construction of the Bristol tramways and became a pioneer in the construction of electric tramways in England. In 1910 he formed, with his brother Samuel, the Bristol Aeroplane Company. He had many other interests, particularly in transport companies.
The Bristol Omnibus Company was a dominant bus operator in Bristol, and was one of the oldest bus companies in the United Kingdom. It ran buses over a wide area of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and neighbouring counties.
First West of England is a bus operator providing services in Bristol, Bath, Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
Greyhound Motors, later known as Bristol Greyhound, was an English bus and coach company based in Bristol.
First Midland Red Buses, trading as First Worcester, is a bus company operating services in Herefordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
South Gloucestershire Bus & Coach Company Ltd was a bus and coach operator operating school bus services under contract to Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council and coach services under contract to Megabus.
Bath bus station serves as part of an integrated transport interchange for the city of Bath, Somerset, England.
Bus transport in Cardiff, the capital and most populous city in Wales, forms the major part of the city's public transport network, which also includes an urban rail network, Waterbus and international airport. Cardiff is a major city of the United Kingdom and a centre of employment, retail, business, government, culture, media, sport and higher education.
The earliest known infrastructure for transport in Somerset is a series of wooden trackways laid across the Somerset Levels, an area of low-lying marshy ground. To the west of this district lies the Bristol Channel, while the other boundaries of the county of Somerset are along chains of hills that were once exploited for their mineral deposits. These natural features have all influenced the evolution of the transport network. Roads and railways either followed the hills, or needed causeways to cross the Levels. Harbours were developed, rivers improved, and linked to sources of traffic by canals. Railways were constructed throughout the area, influenced by the needs of the city of Bristol, which lies just to the north of Somerset, and to link the ports of the far south-west with the rest of England.
Open top buses in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, were introduced in 1950 and have run along the sea front every summer since. The initial operator was Bristol Tramways and this company's successors continued to provide services until 2013. The route from Weston-super-Mare railway station to Sand Bay is operated by First West of England. From time-to-time open top buses have also provided scenic tours in and around the town.
Buses in Portsmouth are a form of public transport in the city of Portsmouth, England. Motor bus services in Portsmouth began in 1919, and were expanded in the 1930s following the closure of the Portsmouth Corporation Transport tram network. Trolleybuses were also operated between 1934 and 1963. Until 1988 the majority of services were provided by Portsmouth Corporation Transport, a municipal bus company owned by Portsmouth City Council. Other services into the city were operated by Southdown Motor Services, latterly as a subsidiary of the National Bus Company.
Buses in Ipswich operate in the town of Ipswich in the English county of Suffolk. As of 2013 services are primarily operated by Ipswich Buses and First Norfolk & Suffolk, although other smaller operators, such as Galloway European, Carters Coaches and Beestons, operate routes from the town into the surrounding rural area. Many of the current routes are based on those established at the end of the 19th century when a horse tram network developed.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)