Bus service shake-up comes into effect this Sunday (1st September)

Number 73 Bus in Bradley Stoke.

Major changes in Bradley Stoke’s bus services come into effect this Sunday (1st September).

As previously reported on this website and in the August edition of the BSJ magazine, the existing 73 and 74 routes are being merged into a single 73 route that serves both the north and the south of the town.

The frequency of the reconfigured 73 service will be the same as on common sections of the present 73 and 74 routes, namely “every 10 minutes” during the day, “every 30 minutes” in the evening, “every 15 minutes” on Saturdays and “every 30 minutes” on Sundays.

The revised 73 service will also be extended to run until approximately 2am in the morning between the city centre and Cribbs Causeway, providing Bradley Stoke with a ‘night bus’ for the first time in several years. Buses will leave Bristol’s Rupert Street at 0.05am, 1.05am and 2.05am (Monday through Saturday). The last two buses heading into town will pass through the Willow Brook Centre at 0.22am and 1.22am.

The changes will benefit passengers living along the northern loop around Woodlands Lane and Bowsland Way (currently served only by the 73) and the southern loop around Webbs Wood Road and Baileys Court Road (currently served only by the 74), who will see a doubling in frequency.

Stops on Brook Way between Manor Farm Roundabout and Orpheus Avenue (namely Kemperleye Way, Linden Drive and Elm Close) will no longer be served by the 73, although the peak-hours-only X73 will continue to use the full length of Brook Way.

Changes to the Wessex no. 13 service, which links the Willow Brook Centre with Bristol city centre via UWE and Fishponds, also come into effect from Sunday (or rather Monday, as there is no Sunday service).

Here, the service frequency is being reduced from “every 20 minutes” to “every 24 minutes” (Monday to Friday) and from “every 30 minutes” to “every 40 minutes) on Saturdays.

New timetables from Sunday 1st September [PDF]:

See also: Bus Timetables (South Gloucestershire Council)

Wessex Red number 13 bus at the Willow Brook Centre, Bradley Stoke.

Photo: A Wessex Red number 13 bus at the Willow Brook Centre.

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3 comments

  1. This is a big step backwards for commuters living on this stretch of Brookway in Bradley Stoke.

    Why can’t the 73 bus service alternate the route to service the full length of Brookway that has been missed out as well, so as to accommodate ALL residents that would like the service to include the Parkway Station from your nearest bus stop…as Bus Number 13 does not stop at the Parkway Station…if it could include that stop, it would help.

    This is a poor show for a big part of Bradley Stoke…whoever sanctioned this change should think again.

  2. If you are thinking of going to Bristol Bus Station for new paper timetables, forget it for the moment. I journeyed there on Friday 30th August and none were available. I received an email this morning that there was a hold up at the printers and the new timetables will not be available for a further week or so.

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