Passengers will be welcomed back aboard four bus services this Monday 3 October, thanks to efforts led by Metro Mayor Dan Norris.
Bristol Community Transport stopped running buses on 2 September at short notice. But after intensive talks led by Metro Mayor Dan Norris’ West of England Combined Authority, a new bus operator Big Lemon has been found to run four of the cancelled buses.
The 505 (Long Ashton Park and Ride to Southmead), 506 (Broadmead to Southmead), 515 (Imperial Park to Stockwood) and 516 (Broad Walk to Hengrove Park) will all recommence.
This means every bus previously run by Bristol Community Transport in the West of England has now been saved by Mayoral action with First Bus running the m1, Eurotaxis the 511 and 512, and Transpora the 52 route.
Mayor Dan Norris said: “I promised the West of England Combined Authority I lead would leave no stone unturned in our efforts to find a solution for Bristolians. I’m pleased these efforts have paid off - my thanks to the Big Lemon for taking on these important services. And it means we’ve managed to save all services cut by Bristol Community Transport - a big win for Bristolians. Buses matter. They allow local communities to thrive and are so, so vital in helping us meet our ambitious net-zero targets locally”.
Big Lemon CEO Tom Druitt added: “The Big Lemon is delighted to confirm that we will be launching services in the Bristol area on Monday 3 October, after our Operator's Licence was granted by the Traffic Commissioner this morning. We have been busy this week preparing vehicles and training drivers, and have brought together a fantastic team of people to give the people of Bristol the best possible experience on our buses. It's been a real pleasure getting to know them and working with them to prepare our launch, and I'd like to thank all of them for their enthusiasm and support. I'd also like to thank the West of England Combined Authority, the Metro Mayor's office and Bristol City Council for all their help in getting these services up and running again and we look forward to working with them, and all bus operators in the region, to improve public transport in the West of England. Finally, to our passengers, I'd like to say how much we're all looking forward to meeting you! It must have been difficult without the services running these last few weeks and we are really looking forward to getting to know you. You will recognise many of our drivers from riding on these services before, and they are really looking forward to seeing you again!"
Upcoming timetables for these services are now available on our Travelwest website.
