First Bus is making a number of changes to bus services, including reducing some in Bath, across the local area from 2nd February.
The changes affect routes in the following places: Bath, Bristol, Frome, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Salisbury, Wells, and Yeovil as well as some towns and villages in between.
As part of the alterations a number of improvements are being made to services between Midsomer Norton, Radstock and Bath.
Specifically the frequency of buses (services 173, 178, 184 and 379) will be improved along common sections of their routes, making it easier for people to travel to and from the city.
At the same time a raft of changes are being made to improve the overall punctuality and reliability of services operating the West of England. While elsewhere some measures are being taken to ensure that the resources used to provide services match the demand for them.
Talking about the changes, Simon Ford, Commercial Manager for First in West of England said: “We are making a series of changes in February to bus routes in the area. In many cases the changes are positive, leading to improvements in the frequency on some key services, for instance those running between Bath and Midsomer Norton.
“At the same time we are also adjusting some other, less well used, services to better match the use of our resources against the level of customer demand. This means in some instances the frequency of buses will be reduced slightly and, or, that the provision of services on Sundays and Public Holidays may change.
“While we understand such changes can occasionally cause local concern it is only right that where our services are not well used that we review this, taking steps to use our buses elsewhere, where they are needed most and where they’ll benefit the greatest number of people.
“We would advise all customers who use buses in the area to check the new timetables for the affected services carefully so they can understand what is happening, and how the alterations may impact on them. The new timetables will be uploaded to the website from 21 January and will be made available in hard copy format, to pick up from travel shops, from 29 January.”
Specific changes to services in Bath, from 2nd February 2014:
Service 2 (Ensleigh – Bath Riverside): The route and timetable of this service is being altered from 2 February as First seeks to better match its resources against the demand for journeys. The changes, which work in tandem with those being made to Service 4 and Service 31, mean that Service 2 buses will start and terminate at Bath Riverside, instead of Kingsway (see Service 4). The frequency of buses running during the day (Monday – Saturday) is also being reduced to one every hour, while Service 2 buses will no longer run – due to low demand for them – during the evenings on Sundays and on Public Holidays. To minimise the impact of this change Service 31 (Lansdown Park and Ride) will serve all stops on Lansdown Road during the evening (Monday – Saturday) and on Sundays and Public Holidays.
Service 4 (Kingsway – Bathampton): The route and timetable of this service is changing. Specifically buses will start and terminate at Kingsway (instead of Bath Riverside) from 2 February while the section of route between Bath city centre and Bath Riverside will be covered by Service 2 instead (see details above). Buses will run every half an hour Monday – Saturday daytimes, with journeys evenly spaced with those on Service 265 over common sections of the route where possible. On Sundays and Public Holidays and during the evening (Monday – Saturday), buses will operate hourly providing a service between Bath city centre and Kingsway only.
Service 5 (Bath Bus Station – Whiteway): To provide a better and more consistent service for customers on Sundays and Public Holidays, the timetable is being changed. From 2 February buses will run every half an hour throughout the day (currently buses run every 40 minutes in the evening on these days). In addition the timetable across the rest of the week is also being adjusted to improve the overall punctuality and reliability of the service.
Service 6/7 (Bath Bus Station – Larkhall): The timetable of this service has been reviewed with changes made to improve the overall punctuality and reliability of buses on the route. In addition the frequency of buses running in the evening (Monday – Saturday) and on Sundays and Public Holidays is being reduced to hourly (compared to every 45 minutes at present). These changes better reflect the demand for services at those times. In addition the combined frequency of Service 6 and 7 buses on Saturday mornings is being reduced slightly; from 2 February buses at these times will operate every 20 minutes (compared with every 15 minutes at present).
Service 10 (Bath Bus Station – Southdown): The timetable of this service is being adjusted to improve the overall punctuality and reliability of buses on the route. In addition the frequency of buses running on Sundays and Public Holidays is being reduced (from one bus every 20 minutes to one every half an hour) to better match resources against the level of customer demand.
Service 13 (Foxhill – Bathford): The timetable of this service has been reviewed with changes made to improve the overall punctuality and reliability of buses on the route.
Service 14 (Weston – Odd Down): The timetable of this service is being adjusted to improve the overall punctuality and reliability of buses on the route.
Service 21 (Newbridge Park and Ride), Service 31 (Lansdown Park and Ride), Service 41 (Odd Down Park and Ride): To accommodate extra people expected to travel to and from a Bath Rugby fixture on 28 February a number of extra journeys are being added into the timetables of all three Park and Ride Services on that day. In all cases, the last Park and Ride bus to each site will be at 23.15 hours on this day.
In addition to that one-off change, a couple of permanent alterations are being made to Service 31. Specifically from 2 February the Monday to Friday off peak frequency is being increased, from one bus every 15 minutes to one bus every 12 minutes. This reflects the growing demand for the service. In addition, to compensate for changes made to Service 2, Service 31 buses will observe all stops on Lansdown Road in the evenings (Monday – Saturday) and all day on Sundays and Public Holidays.
Changes to services operating to / from Bath, Bristol, Frome, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Salisbury, Wells, and Yeovil, from 2 February 2014
Service 173 (Bath – Wells): The timetable for this service is changing as part of a package of measures designed to improve the frequency of buses between Bath, Midsomer Norton and Radstock. Affecting Services 173, 178, 184 and 379, the changes mean that buses along common sections of the route will run every 15 minutes (compared to every 20 minutes at present). Customers are strongly advised to check the new timetable to ensure that they understand what is happening
Service 178 (Bath – Bristol): The timetable for this service is changing as part of a package of measures designed to improve the frequency of buses between Bath, Midsomer Norton and Radstock. Affecting Services 173, 178, 184 and 379, the changes mean that buses along common sections of the route will run every 15 minutes (compared to every 20 minutes at present). Customers are strongly advised to check the new timetable to ensure that they understand what is happening, specifically as departure times for buses leaving Bath and Bristol on Service 178 will change significantly.
Service 184 (Bath – Frome): The timetable for this service is changing as part of a package of measures designed to improve the frequency of buses between Bath, Midsomer Norton and Radstock. Affecting Services 173, 178, 184 and 379, the changes mean that buses along common sections of the route will run every 15 minutes (compared to every 20 minutes at present). Customers are strongly advised to check the new timetable to ensure that they understand what is happening, specifically as departure times for buses leaving Bath and Frome on Service 184 will change significantly.
Service 264 (Bath – Warminster) and Service 265 (Bath – Warminster – Salisbury): A number of significant changes are being made to the route and timetable of service 265 from 2 February, while Service 264 is being withdrawn completely.
Service 379 (Bath – Bristol): The timetable and route of this service is changing as part of a package of measures designed to improve the frequency of buses between Bath, Midsomer Norton and Radstock. Specifically all Service 379 journeys will be extended beyond Radstock to Bath Bus Station from February, helping to create a 15 minute frequency of buses between along the section of route the buses share with Services 173, 178 and 184.
Notably between Paulton and Bath, Service 379 buses will follow the same route as Service 178 buses, with journeys spaced out to provide a service every half an hour. Buses will serve Old Mills, Tesco.
Customers are strongly advised to check the new timetable to ensure that they understand what is happening, specifically as departure times from Bristol are revised so that buses leave at XX35 minutes past the hour. Similarly customers who currently use Service 379 to commute between Bristol and Shepton Mallet should also check their options as the current journey extension (which comprises of one journey a day in each direction, Monday – Friday) will be removed from 2 February.
People wanting more information about the changes, or wishing to view timetables for the affected services are advised to log onto www.firstgroup.com/bristol. New timetables will be made available online from 21st January and will be made available in hard copy format, to pick up from travel shops, from 29th January.
