Autumn often brings with it an increase in complaints about local bus services and this year has been no exception, despite the introduction of “improved” services, such as the T1 and M1 MetroBus since summer 2018.
The T1 Thornbury to Bristol express service, which passes along Bradley Stoke Way, only runs every half hour but is favoured by some users over the more-frequent M1 as it is scheduled to get them to the city centre faster. This is because it accesses the M32 at junction 1 rather than going into the UWE campus and using the new bus-only junction. However, traffic congestion on the A38 between Thornbury and Aztec West at peak times has meant that the T1 buses can be full by the time they arrive at the Great Meadow stop in south Bradley Stoke.
Meanwhile, the off-peak frequency of the M1 MetroBus may have been reduced, but it seems the peak hours service is becoming more and more popular. Since 15th September three extra M1 journeys have been added between Bradley Stoke and the city centre in the morning peak. However, it seems this is still not enough as there are reports of buses being full by the time they reach the Great Stoke stop near the north end of the Stoke Gifford By-Pass.
There have also been reports of M1 buses being held up in congestion on the A4174, on the approach to Coldharbour Lane.
Recent discussions on the BSJ Facebook page:
- Grumbles about the T1 bus service on Twitter this morning
- Overcrowding on M1 MetroBus during the morning peak
- M1 MetroBus getting held up in 2+ lane on A4174
- Missed journeys on M1 MetroBus
See also: Your tweets about bus service issues (The Journal)
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2019 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (on page 33). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH (except August), to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
