BUS operator First is extending its ‘express’ 49x service to Lyde Green when a new timetable comes into effect this month.
But another local service, the 462 run by rival firm Stagecoach, is being axed.
First says its half-hourly 49x service, which goes through Emersons Green, Mangotsfield, Staple Hill and Fishponds before diverting onto the M32 from Eastville to the city centre, is being extended to the Bristol & Bath Science Park and Willowherb Road “following customer demand”.
Buses will only serve Lyde Green before 8pm, after which they will terminate at Emersons Green in the evenings and Staple Hill through the night, with no Sunday services reaching Lyde Green.
First says it is also introducing “express” 48x and 49x services, which use the bottom of the M32 instead of travelling along Stapleton Road and Old Market, outbound from the Centre from September 1 onwards.
Until now the 48x and 49x services, whose journey times are around 10 to 15 minutes shorter than the 48 and 49, have only operated into town from Emersons Green.
First says it is introducing outbound services “following customer feedback”.
On weekdays there will be two 48x, two 49x, two 48 and two 49 services per hour in each direction.
The 48 and 49 will only start and finish at Emersons Green during the early morning and evenings.
Stagecoach says its decision to axe the 462, which linked Emersons Green, Mangotsfield and Bromley Heath to the Centre via the ring road and M32, has been made “due to declining customer numbers”.
The commuter service ran three times inbound in the morning and twice outbound in the afternoon: journeys had already been cut back from four in each direction in April.
Bromley Heath commuter Claire Lewis, who used the 462 to travel to and from her job at a city centre school, said the service “has been very busy in the mornings” and is often full, although afternoon services were quiet because it only ran at 4.05pm and 6.25pm.
When Stagecoach cut the 4.45pm and 5.25pm return journeys in April, Emersons Green commuter Nicola Davis, who relied on the 462 to travel to and from her job working for the NHS in the city centre, said many key workers living along the route would no longer be able to rely on it to get home after finishing day shifts.
The Voice asked Stagecoach if it had figures on passenger numbers.
A spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, the usage on this service is still very low over the course of the day and whilst there is a busy journey there is still not a sufficient number of customers over the course of the day to cover the costs of operation. We have therefore had to make the difficult decision to withdraw this service.”
• First Bus is introducing two new services to take students from the Emersons Green area to St Brendan’s Sixth Form College
The SB4 will link Lyde Green, Emersons Green and Mangotsfield to the college in Brislington, via Warmley.
The SB6 will pick up students in Pucklechurch and travel via Wick, Cadbury Heath and Willsbridge.
For more details visit tinyurl.com/yx6tssu7.