Bus improvements from 2 April for Backwell pupils
First Bus promise new service to 'match Backwell School start and finish times'
Last summer when the X2 service was cancelled those of us with children at Backwell School were shocked. With the remaining bus times unsuitable for school travel many of us have had to make alternative arrangements.
Last summer I was given notice of the intention to cancel the X2 service and although I pressured First Bus, via North Somerset Council, to make timetable changes to the X7 to allow children to get to and from school at a reasonable time, this was unsuccessful. With the cancellation of the service many local residents and parents signed a petition to get the timetable changed to help our children get to and from school at a reasonable time. Over the past few months I have continued to ask First Bus to reinstate the services we rely upon.
I am pleased to report that this week First Bus annouced that from 2 April they will be introducing a new X8 service which, they say, will align with the school day. More specifically they said:
"Service X8 Nailsea - Bristol - this new service will be introduced to provide a Monday-Saturday hourly service from Bristol to Nailsea Link Road via Long Ashton, Backwell, and Nailsea and Backwell Station, with journeys timed to match Backwell School start and finish times. The new timetable and route map will be available to view soon".
(Click here for full statement)
The existing X7 service will cease to travel via Backwell, instead going through Wraxall on its way to Clevedon.
Improved Park & Ride and evening services too!
For those of you that signed the petition you will recall that we didn't just ask for better buses for school children, we also wanted to reinstate better evening services through Long Ashton.
Responding to the pressure I and others have been putting on First Bus they specifically mentioned Long Ashton on their statement of timetable changes, noting:
"All Long Ashton services – the combination of Services X7, X8 and X9 will provide an improved, every 15-minute Monday-Saturday daytime service for Long Ashton, with buses every 30 minutes in the evenings"
This is great news and I am really pleased. In addition First Bus are proposing to increase the frequency of services from the park and ride into Bristol from every 20 minutes to every 15 minutes.
Thank you everyone, and thank you First Bus
A big thank you to everyone who signed the petition and contacted me about this issue. Being able to demonstrate that people are upset about a loss of a bus service is important in justifying its return. Although we have yet to see the new timetable we must also thank First Bus to listening to our concerns.
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