A new express bus service launched today (Wednesday 2nd January) links Kingswood and Emersons Green with major employment centres in the North Fringe of Bristol
The X18 service, operated by First Group working in partnership with South Gloucestershire Council, provides five or six journeys in each direction during both the morning and afternoon rush hours, Monday to Friday only.
First says the new service will use modern, low-floor buses that will “offer a better bus travel experience that will help persuade people to leave their cars behind and feel good about taking the bus”.
Features of the “executive-style” service include:
- Individual leather seats
- Free wi-fi
- BBC news updates on screen
- Next stop information
- Free Metro newspaper
Locally, the X18 route will see buses enter the UWE Frenchay campus from Coldharbour Lane before heading along the new Cheswick Bus Link. After passing along a short section of Long Down Avenue, buses will visit MOD Abbey Wood before returning to the Ring Road and heading up to Filton.
Buses will then proceed north up the A38 Gloucester Road before entering the Aztec West Business Park.
A route map published on the Traveline South West website suggests that the buses will serve the complete loop of Park Avenue within the business park but this has yet to be confirmed by First.
More information: X18 Timetable (First Group)
A First Group spokesperson has now confirmed that the X18 does indeed make a full circuit of Park Avenue.
Once again, only lip service is being payed in an effort to reduce congestion around the Northern Fringe. Five or six journeys during the peak hours only, running at at an irregular interval will not encourage people out of their cars. They will just add to the congestion.
In an ideal world the service should run at regular frequent intervals (15 mins) in the peak periods and at a reduced (30 mins) frequency during the middle of the day. In this way potential passengers don’t need to consult a timetable – just turn up and go. Obviously this would cost whoever operated the service an initially outlay and would not make money from day 1, but investment needs to be made but the the way today’s services are expected to appease shareholders, as opposed to solve damaging issues, is not conducive to this.
It is interesting to note also that the service does not serve the bottleneck of Hatchet Lane & Bristol Parkway station.
Good to hear although I totally agree with Colin Oakley in that this is just lip service being paid ease the traffic congestion around the Northern fringe – which is only set to get worse with all the new housing developments going up!
It certainly does nothing to help those of us that live in the Conygre part of Filton who lost our bus service last September, particularly the many elderly residents who cannot walk as far as the Ring Road, Filton Church or the A38.
The more I hear about planning in South Glos, be it transport, housing or indeed anything else, the more I pray that I can move away from Filton as soon as possible as it is going to be a nightmare getting anywhere by car, bus or train!
Some more news about the new service, published by First Group today:
New express X18 bus service launched
First Group is offering FREE travel on the X18 this week (from Monday 21st to Friday 25th January inclusive).
“No vouchers or tickets required – just turn up and get on!”
Free Travel this week on Bristol’s new X18 commuter service
This is a good bus service but it doesnt run frequant enough and it has been early every night I have gone to get it I finish at six and the bus come at 6.15 I am always there by this time but It never turns up so I have to walk.
This is an ideal service for me as it gets me to and from work in half the time it takes if I use the 73 or 74.
However, if they don’t get enough passengers using the service First will do what they always do and cut the service as being unprofitable. In the few times I have used it there have only been about half a dozen other passengers at most and this morning there was only one. Perhaps more might get on between the UWE and Emerson’s Green/Kingswood but there needs to be more passenger take up.
And yes it would be better if they were a little more frequent and ran all day.