Bus operator First West of England is making further changes to its MetroBus Bristol services from Sunday 5th January 2020, in particular the M1 MetroBus which links Bradley Stoke with Cribbs Causeway and Bristol city centre.

The company says the changes are designed to better reflect the pattern of customer demand across all hours of MetroBus service and improve reliability and punctuality.

The number of customers using the city’s MetroBuses has grown steadily, with more than four million passengers carried across the three routes (M1, M2 & M3) since the launch of the services.

The M1 MetroBus service between Cribbs Causeway and Hengrove, which passes along Bradley Stoke Way, has seen varying customer demand across peak and off-peak times. Additional peak capacity was added to the busiest sections of the route in September 2019, however this was only of benefit to passengers from Bradley Stoke travelling in the direction of the city centre during the morning peak.

With peak demand continuing to grow, the number of buses between Bradley Stoke’s Patchway Brook stop (near Aldi) and the city centre will be increased from January to provide extra capacity in both directions, and in the evening peak as well as the morning peak. Furthermore, some of these extra buses will start or terminate at Parson Street Station in Bedminster rather than the city centre.

This will mean a bus will run every 7-8 minutes on this section of the route at all weekday peak times compared to the current 10 minutes, an increase of 33 percent in the number of seats provided.

Outside of peak times on this section of the route, and throughout the day on the remainder of the route, the weekday M1 service will now operate every 15 minutes (a downgrade from the present ‘every 12 minutes’). Late evening services (after about 7pm) will continue to run every 20 minutes.

On Saturdays, buses will operate every 20 minutes at all times of day throughout the route (a downgrade from the present ‘every 12 minutes’ between approximately 10am and 5pm).

There are no changes to the frequency of buses on Sundays and public holidays.

More: M1 MetroBus one year on: Your views »

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Motorists in the Stokes are being warned to expect delays at a major roundabout on the local road network in the new year.

Improvement works at Great Stoke Roundabout (a.k.a. Rabbit Roundabout), on the border between Bradley Stoke and Stoke Gifford, are due to start on Thursday 2nd January and are expected to take 12 months to complete.

The £2.9 million scheme, funded by the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), includes:

• Increasing all approaches to the roundabout from two lanes to three
• Widening and modifications to road markings on the roundabout
• The installation of Toucan crossings on each of the four arms of the roundabout, prioritised for pedestrians and cyclists

The work will necessitate the temporary closure of footways/cycleways in the vicinity of the roundabout. Diversions will be in place for pedestrians and cyclists, including the use of temporary light controlled crossings on the Winterbourne Road, to the west of the roundabout, and on Great Stoke Way to the south.

Preparatory work that took place before Christmas has seen the construction of a temporary ramp to divert the footway on the west side of Bradley Stoke Way along the top of the embankment. The scrub clearance which took place prior to the installation of the ramp was necessary to “open up the area” to avoid creating a “significant personal safety risk” for members of the public, according to a council source.

Further details about the roundabout improvement scheme are available on the SGC website at www.southglos.gov.uk/majorroadworks

More: Project timetable; Frequently asked questions »

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The operating frequency of the flagship M1 MetroBus service, which links Bradley Stoke with Cribbs Causeway and Bristol city centre, looks set to be reduced for the second time in just over four months, the Journal can reveal.

No formal announcement has yet been made by First West of England or its sub-contractor Bristol Community Transport, but the following brief statement about the M1 service has appeared today (27th November) on the Travelwest website:

[With effect from 05/01/2020]

“Monday to Friday frequency reduction from ‘every 10 minutes’ to ‘every 15 minutes’.”

“Additional peak journeys between The Centre [in Bristol] and Patchway Brook [near Aldi in Bradley Stoke].”

“Saturday frequency reduction from ‘every 10 minutes’ to ‘every 20 minutes’. No Changes on Sundays.”

At the time of writing, no timetables were available for the revised service.

When it started on 6th January 2019, the M1 service ran every 10 minutes between 6am and midnight (Mon-Sat) and every 20 minutes between 9am and midnight on Sundays.

However, from 1st September 2019, the Monday to Friday off-peak and Saturday daytime frequency was reduced from ‘every 10 minutes’ to ‘every 12 minutes’. At the same time, the Monday to Saturday evening frequency was reduced from ‘every 10 minutes’ to ‘every 20 minutes’.

In contrast to off-peak times, passenger numbers at peak hours remain high and a small number of additional morning peak journeys were introduced from 15th September 2019 on the route section between Patchway Brook and Broadmead. These journeys are run using vehicles which aren’t MetroBus-branded.

Photo: The very first timetabled M1 MetroBus to enter Bradley Stoke arrives at the Patchway Brook southbound stop at 9.12am on Sunday 6th January 2019.

UPDATE (28th November 2019)

First West of England says new timetables will be available on its website from Friday 6th December 2019.

UPDATE (14th December 2019)

M1 timetable from 5th January 2020 [PDF; 5.7MB N.B. Large file!]

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Commuters in the Stokes look set to be once again heading for a double dose of roadworks-induced misery after South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) announced that it is to begin work on a £2.9 million scheme of improvements to Great Stoke Roundabout (a.k.a. Rabbit Roundabout) in January next year.

The timing of the work, which will take 12 months to complete and involve lane closures and some full road closures, means that it will overlap a planned eight-month full closure of Gipsy Patch Lane due to start in March 2020.

The two work locations lie on the same east-west route between Winterbourne and the A38 and are separated by just 1.3 miles.

News of the implementation overlap came following funding approval for the Great Stoke scheme from the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) on 4th October.

As previously reported, the scheme will increase capacity at the roundabout by widening all approaches as well as improving safety for cyclists and pedestrians with the introduction of new toucan crossings. Full details are shown underneath the plan below.

A council spokesperson said:

“The area will be subject to lane closures during this work. We will do everything we can to minimise the need for full road closures but there will be times when these are essential to enable us to carry out the work safely.”

The council’s own StreetCare department will carry out the work, with specialist contractors being used as required.

Site clearance will take place between now and Christmas. Some temporary walkways will also be installed before Christmas, ready for the main construction works to commence on 6th January. Residents directly affected by these works will be notified by letter.

More: "Investment … will help future proof the highway network" »

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