Buses in Bristol, UK
Created | Updated Apr 4, 2005
In Bristol, thousands of people get on its buses every day- it is an essential part of life for people living and working in the city. They are regularly packed, and are very popular for people getting to the city centre. Indeed, without the buses, Bristol would virtually collapse. People complain about it, people shout at each other about it, people write angry letters about it, but the bus service is integral to the structure and economy of Bristol.
A brief background on Bristol buses
Bristol buses are owned and ran by a company known as First Group, who have an extensive empire of bus and train services in the UK, and they operate 38 services throughout the city. The thing that is different about their patch in Bristol is that they pretty much have a monopoly on nearly all bus services running within the city boundaries. That, unfortunately, presents a problem for some travellers, as there is no alternative bus company to First buses, so no competition and continually improved service because of competition, and taxis are uneconomical in the long run.
The only other plausible alternative people have is to buy a car, which to most people travelling on these buses is either too expensive or out of their reach, because a lot of people who travel on buses are young people and children who cannot drive, those who can't afford it and also those who like a few(or more) drinks, and finally those who do not wish to destroy the environment with exhaust fumes.
On Bristol buses, there is a very extensive network of routes so you can get to anywhere you need to. Also, the City Centre and Broadmead is the hub for going anywhere in the city, and from Bristol Bus Station, anywhere in the country, especially the South West. The biggest problem with some people in Bristol however is the punctuality of buses. Some of them can be late. Really late. Some people have waited for hours, for buses that are supposed to have frequencies of 15 to 20 minutes. You might want to bring a few bits to read or play with while you wait. Or better yet, walk if you're in such a rush. There are absolutely loads of reasons for buses being late, the most likely reason being traffic congestion. Congestion in Bristol is a really big problem, a problem that the local government are trying to solve, but to little success.You might spot some buses left idle in the city centre, and because of congestion, some drivers are slowed down in getting to their shifts.
You would also want to know that the service is decreased on weekends and public holidays, so check the times before you go. It is not an uncommon thing to complain about the service- large chunks of local newspaper, The Evening Post have been devoted to this in the past. If you've got nothing better to do, which is highly unlikely in a place like Bristol, you can complain if you want. An essential item you will need if you want to complain to the bus company about their punctuality effectively is a stopwatch. Check the timetables at the stops, and if it goes over by more than 30 minutes, there is a reasonable excuse to complain. Be careful about when and where you complain, as bus drivers get this all the time and don't really need much more of it, and also the time you use on the bus to complain makes the bus more late than it was. It's best to complain by post if you really want to, or even to the Evening Post, but the subject has been done to death in the newspaper so there's a very small chance of it getting printed.
The most important thing you would need to know about on Bristol buses are tickets.
Standard tickets
You can get a single ticket that'll take you one way to a destination on the bus route, with an average adult price of around a quid. Returns which will take you to and from a destination are more expensive, with an average adult price of around a couple of quid1, with them being more around the £3 mark in peak time, which is until 9am. But if you're in Bristol on a day trip you'll get more value if you get a Day ticket. These are £2.60 and are basically tickets for unlimited travel all day. These are also £3.20 in peak time. Also, if you're travelling with your family(to the bus company that means up to 2 adults and three children)you can get a Family day ticket. These are around a fiver.
Tickets for more than one day
If you're planning to stay in Bristol for one or two weeks then you will want to buy a Week ticket, which offers unlimited travel for a week, two weeks or more. These are sold by areas- you can get them for what's known as Zone 1 which is the area around the city centre and some of beyond, or Zone 2 which covers the rest of the city. These cost around a tenner a week. But there is a problem with this- some people living in the areas around the borders are having a bit of a dispute as to where the borders between Zone 1 and 2 actually are, and have caused many an arguement between bus drivers and passengers. However, using the listings and signs that the bus company gives should be fine. This is not for everyone, though. You can get a ticket that covers the whole of the city and that costs around £15 a week, which is much easier.
Bus Drivers
Bus Drivers in Bristol are, despite a lot of impressions to the contrary, really good people. Most of them naturally speak in the Bristolian dialect of English, of which an unbiased description of is not currently availible on h2g2 but there is a full dictionary of it on That be Bristle and one of them even won Stars in their Eyes, singing to an audience of thousands. Some bus drivers can seem quite grumpy, partly because of certain rude teenagers who aren't nice to drivers, make loud noises and throw things at buses for some reason, reports of some being assaulted have lowered their morale, which have caused some of them to adopt an almost Vogonic state of mind. Whether they will adopt Vogon Poetry to cause these people to go away or have brain heamorrages is anyone's guess, although that would probably be too cruel. Be nice to them - they have a hard job, one of which is hard to get people into at the moment because of what people hear about it. So be sympathetic if there are problems, and you might want to suggest a hobby to those who do make life a misery for drivers by complaining too much.
1 A quid is a pound, a colloquial expression
