A reduction in the operating frequency of the M1 MetroBus service is one of a number of changes being introduced by First West of England from Sunday 24th April 2022.
The Monday to Saturday daytime frequency on the M1 service will decrease from ‘every 10 minutes’ to ‘every 12 minutes’, while the Sunday daytime frequency will decrease from ‘every 15 minutes’ to ‘every 20 minutes’. Late evening frequencies on all days of the week will be unchanged at ‘every 20 minutes’.
Although service frequencies on the 73 service through Bradley Stoke will remain unchanged at ‘every 30 minutes’, the current additional Monday to Friday off-peak ‘short journeys’ between Bristol city centre and Bristol Parkway Station will be withdrawn. First says this change is “due to low customer demand and to ensure that service levels meet available driver resources”.
The T2 service between Thornbury and Bristol city centre via Almondsbury, Aztec West and The Mall at Cribbs Causeway will be withdrawn. Passengers are advised to use services T1 (First) or 10 (Stagecoach) as an alternative.
First’s 75 service, linking The Mall at Cribbs Causeway with Hengrove via Patchway and Bristol city centre will see a frequency reduction to ‘every 20 minutes’ on Saturdays and ‘every 30 minutes’ on Sundays.
There are also some timetable changes on the Y6 service, which links Chipping Sodbury to Southmead Hospital via Parkway Station, Little Stoke, Stoke Lodge and The Mall at Cribbs Causeway.
Doug Claringbold, managing director of First West of England, said:
“Despite the government extending emergency funding for another six months, ongoing issues with driver availability mean further action is necessary beyond the changes we made at the end of January to ensure we can operate services more reliably for our customers.”
“A number of services will see temporary reductions in frequency whilst passenger and driver numbers are constrained but unfortunately there are a number of services that are not commercially viable even at pre-pandemic passenger levels. As a result we are having to make difficult decisions to act on these poor performing routes and ensure that our resources are focused on the areas of the greatest need.”
“Wherever routes have been curtailed or cut, these were difficult decisions and we apologise to all customers who will be adversely impacted. We need to make these adjustments to be able to ensure the overall viability of our network in what remain very challenging and uncertain conditions, and we will continue to work closely with the West of England Combined Authority and other stakeholders as we navigate this difficult path.”
Customers are advised to check timetables before their journey.
More information and related links:
- Full list of bus service changes (Travelwest)
- Current and future timetables (First West of England)
- ‘All stops’ timetable for service 73 from 24th April 2022 [PDF on Dropbox]
- ‘All stops’ timetable for service M1 MetroBus from 24th April 2022 [PDF on Dropbox]
- Bus services in the Bradley Stoke area (The Journal)
