Bus operator First West of England has announced a number of upcoming changes to its Bath services, coming into effect from Sunday 5th January 2020.
The changes include timetable alterations designed to better reflect customer demand, improve reliability and in some cases reduce journey times across the area.
Timings will be revised across most services to improve punctuality and in many cases journey times are reduced.
These include Service 1 (Bath Bus Station – Southdown), Service 2 (City Centre – Mulberry Park), Service 6/6A/7 (Bath Bus Station – Larkhall), Service 8 (Kingsway – Upper Weston), Service 9 (Bath Bus Station – Upper Weston), Service 11 (City Centre – Bathampton), and Service 12 (City Centre – Whiteway).
Service 5 (Bath Bus Station – Whiteway) will run at a slightly reduced frequency of every 12 minutes during off-peak times, Monday to Friday. Some journeys operating between Bath Bus Station and Twerton Bridge during the late evening will be withdrawn, and a small number of journeys running in the late evening Monday to Friday and Saturday will terminate at Twerton High Street, rather than Bath Bus Station as they did previously.
Due to low customer demand, Service 9 (Bath Bus Station – Upper Weston) will be withdrawn on Sundays and Public Holidays, as well as some early morning journeys on Monday to Friday and Saturday.
Customers will be able to use alternative services during these times, including Service 19 which will operate a small diversion via Penn Lea on Sundays and Public Holidays.
A number of changes will be made to Service 19 and 19A, though no changes will be made to the route. Service 19A (Bath – Cribbs Causeway) will be re-numbered Service 18 and will run every hour during the main part of the day Monday to Saturday, with Service 19 operating hourly at peak times Monday to Friday only.
During off-peak times in the week, and all day on Saturdays, only Service 18 will operate. Evening journeys Monday to Saturday will be withdrawn, with the last service departing at around 18.30 from Bath Bus Station, and around 20.00 from Cribbs Causeway.
Service 19 will also operate a slightly revised timetable during early mornings and early evenings on Sundays and Public Holidays, with some journeys terminating earlier along the route and others extended. Customers are advised to check the new timetable before travelling.
Service 172 (Bath – Paulton / Wells) will have its route revised in the Paulton area, and buses on this service will no longer operate within the car park of Tesco at Old Mills.
Service X31 (Bath – Chippenham) journeys in the evening Monday to Saturday and during the day on Sundays and Public Holidays will no longer be operated by First.
It is understood that a service operated by Faresaver will cover this route on Sundays and Public Holidays and customers are being advised to contact Faresaver for further information.
The University Services U1/U3 (Oldfield Park – University of Bath) will operate on a reduced level of service between 6 and 31 January 2020, as the University of Bath will be in assessment weeks when customer demand decreases. Both Service U1 and U3 will operate at least every 10 minutes throughout the day.
The changes will come into effect from Sunday 5th January 2020.
