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.

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The off-peak frequency of the M1 MetroBus service which runs between Cribbs Causeway, Bradley Stoke and Hengrove, via the city centre is to be reduced from 1st September due to low passenger numbers.

Finally starting operations in January 2019, more than three years after major roadworks began in Bradley Stoke to create the necessary infrastructure for the route, the M1 service has been required to run every 10 minutes through the day on weekdays, in order to meet the service levels set out in the MetroBus Quality Partnership Scheme.

The service is said to be very popular during the morning and afternoon peak times, but First West of England says there is a significant drop off in passengers outside of these times. To better reflect this pattern of demand, from 1st September, the Monday to Friday off-peak and Saturday daytime frequency will be reduced from ‘every 10 minutes’ to ‘every 12 minutes’. At the same time, the Monday to Saturday evening frequency will be reduced from ‘every 10 minutes’ to ‘every 20 minutes’, with the transition in frequency taking place between 7pm and 8pm.

On a more positive note, on Sundays and public holidays, the M1 service will start operating two hours earlier, at 7am, and run every 30 minutes between 7am and 9am.

Prior to the introduction of the M1 service, First initially said that it would be axing its existing peak-hours-only X73 service once the M1 started. It later changed its mind and the X73 was retained, albeit with one fewer journey each day and rebranded as the T3.

Having operated the T3 service for over six months, First has concluded that the service is not commercially viable and has announced its withdrawal from 1st September.

More: Additional morning peak journeys from BS to city centre »

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A new traffic lane on a main road through Bradley Stoke is having to be resurfaced less than three years after it was created due to substandard materials being used in its construction.

What is now the southbound lane of Bradley Stoke Way between Patchway Brook Roundabout (near Aldi) and Savages Wood Roundabout (near the leisure centre) was created as part the MetroBus project by taking land from the adjacent verge. It received its final surfacing in September 2016 after which it was brought into service for general traffic.

But on Tuesday last week (21st May), South Gloucestershire Council announced on its StreetCare Facebook page that it would be closing the aforementioned stretch of road overnight for five nights from Monday 27th May “to carry out carriageway resurfacing”.

The post attracted a torrent of comments with people demanding to know why “the best road in Bradley Stoke” and “the only road in the area without potholes” should need resurfacing.

The council replied with the comment:

“The closure is for remedial works – we need to carry out investigations as we have detected defects underneath the carriageway which can cause potholes and other problems on the road surface,”

which only led to further questions asking why other roads in the area which already have potholes haven’t been repaired.

In reply to an enquiry from the Journal, an SGC spokesperson explained further:

“This is MetroBus remedial work that is being carried out at no cost to South Gloucestershire Council. The contractor used the incorrect material specification for the stone mastic asphalt (SMA) which would result in a reduced life span of the surface.”

Asked if the issue might affect other stretches of road created during the MetroBus project, the spokesperson added:

“The issue of incorrect material being used during the MetroBus work applies only to the southbound section that is being resurfaced this week.”

More: Overnight closure on Thursday for white lining »

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The introduction of new bus routes (T1 and M1 MetroBus) through Bradley Stoke has actually worsened traffic congestion rather than relieved it, claim a number of readers commenting on the Journal’s Facebook page.

Responding to a reader who reported being held up by a convoy of three buses “halting at every stop” along Bradley Stoke Way to pick up or set down passengers, many people have blamed the lack of lay-bys at the newly created MetroBus stops for the problems.

An overall increase in traffic flow resulting from the opening of the Stoke Gifford By-Pass (created as part of the MetroBus project) seems to have exacerbated the problem by limiting opportunities for overtaking buses halted at stops, due to a lack of gaps in oncoming traffic.

Council planners say they are against having lay-bys at stops because buses find it difficult to re-enter the traffic flow when moving off. However, the policy seems to be backfiring as ‘rapid service’ MetroBuses, which only halt at selected stops, are themselves being held up by being unable to pass regular buses (73 and T1) halted at any stop along their route, including the non-MetroBus ones.

Responding to an enquiry from Bradley Stoke Town Council after the issue of tailbacks forming at the Savages Wood Roundabout stop had been raised by a town councillor, South Gloucestershire Council replied:

“The new bus stops that have been provided on Bradley Stoke Way for the MetroBus services have not been built with lay-bys. The reason for this is that when buses pull out of the traffic flow into bus lay-bys at bus stops, they often find it very difficult to pull back out onto the road as they have to wait for a gap in the traffic to do so. This can result in delays to bus services and unreliability.”

“Therefore, as MetroBus is designed to be a faster, more reliable public transport service, most new MetroBus stops have been built without lay-bys. It should be noted however, as MetroBus services require passengers to buy tickets before they board the bus, in order to reduce the time that the buses need to wait at the bus stops.”

“Providing high quality public transport services such as MetroBus should help to reduce future increases in traffic associated with the expected growth in housing and jobs, especially single occupancy car use.”

More: Selected reader comments from our Facebook page »

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