h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Since this article was written Bristol buses have increased their fares significantly.

This is due to the councils backwards logic of fining First for bad service. Inevitably, the week after a fine First increase their fares. Meaning a 20min each way return trip now costs about £4.

As the article states, there is no bus competition in Bristol. Hence why a season ticket in Bristol will cost you double the cost of similarly sized cities such as Leicester and Leeds, these citys have competing bus companys. First will milk its monopoly in Bristol for every penny.

Also, since the integration of more countries into the European union you will find most Bristol bus drivers are now Polish, with little knowledge of the stops and routes.

Hence, I no longer get buses, they are unreliable and expensive, whereas my pushbike is effort, it gets me where I want to go when I want to and for an affordable price (well, nothing.)

I know- I need to find out how I can update this so it includes that, as I've been away from h2g2 for quite a long time! I've found myself walking so often now because of the service, and I get reduced season tickets as a student!

I've heard loads of people around Bristol talking about their experience of the bus "service". Some of their stories are astonishing.

I've started a blog of my own experience, in the hope of collecting as many of these stories as possible.

http://bristolbusstories.blogspot.com/

Please add your own Bristol Bus Stories.
And get anyone else with a tale to tell to join in too.

One day back in June when I was very very bored, I looked up prices for an all day ticket in the twenty largest cities in the u.k.

Here are the results:

Bristol £4.40
London £3.50
Sheffield £3.50
Belfast £3.50
Plymouth £3.50
Stoke on trent £3.50
Leeds £3.30
Manchester £3.30
Liverpool £3.10
Birmingham £3.00
Cardiff £3.00
Wolverhampton £3.00
Derby £2.85
Bradford £2.80
Glasgow £2.75
Coventry £2.50
Leicester £2.50
Nottingham £2.50
Kingston upon Hull £2.50
Edinburgh £2.30

I'm not really sure why our bus fares are nearly twice those for edinburgh. Perhaps it's because there is a lack of decent competition in Bristol.

Also from my experience the bus drivers are just as fed up with the bus service and the poor quality of buses that they have to drive.

And don't even get me started on how much it costs for child tickets.....

First Bus is quite possibly the worst and most reviled company in Bristol.

They run an appalling, expensive, rubbish service and should be booted out of the city as soon as possible.

Things have changed since Ilived in Bristol, then. I often caught the 47 bus to Bridge Farm. Mind you I did cycle as well. But cycling up the Bath Raod then up the hill towards Whitchurch was some cycle!! The only time the buses were late in my time was the day I wanted to get a train from Temple Meads to London. The bus did not arrive, and I had to go and catch another bus (lucky there was a godd service some minutes away) only just caught my train. It was actually leaving the platform when I got on. Wonder what would have happend if i had missed it?

I used to work in the Horsefair, in a shp no longer there (Was next door to the nurses uniform shop, and on the other side Primark) Last time I was in Bristol the shop had been knocked through to next door,and was a furniture shop!

On a slightly different note whatever happened to Millar Stone & Jonas the wholesale Jewellers??

Things have changed since Ilived in Bristol, then. I often caught the 47 bus to Bridge Farm. Mind you I did cycle as well. But cycling up the Bath Road then up the hill towards Whitchurch was some cycle!! The only time the buses were late in my time was the day I wanted to get a train from Temple Meads to London. The bus did not arrive, and I had to go and catch another bus (lucky there was a godd service some minutes away) only just caught my train. It was actually leaving the platform when I got on. Wonder what would have happend if I had missed it?

I used to work in the Horsefair, in a shop no longer there (Was next door to the nurses uniform shop, and on the other side Primark) Last time I was in Bristol the shop had been knocked through to next door,and was a furniture shop!

On a slightly different note whatever happened to Millar Stone & Jonas the wholesale Jewellers??

Hey my name is Patch.

I am doing a media BTEC at College Green. My latest assignment is to make a news feature relevent to Bristol, so I decided to do First bus. I am looking for people who have interesting bus stories or just anyone who has an opinion.

Please get back to me and we can arrange to meet.

Cheers

Patch.

Can't meet you sorry, live far, far away. Bristol buses, used to have a funny type of driver. When you offred the driver more than the fare they would try and 'turf' you off for having not having correct fare. The sign on the side of the bus read something like 'Please have correct fare if possible'. The drivers seemed to read it as 'You must have correct fare or walk'. til they met me. I said I'll sit on the bus and wait for my change, which duly came my way before I got off.

The 'Bus service to Whitchurch used to have Two buses run to it one to Bridge Farm, one to whitchurch Lane' Both ran down the Road (Forget it's name) past ASDA in Whitchurch.

Hope that is of some use to you.

Thanks for your reply . I've never met one like that before, but once the driver let me get on the bus for nothing because I only had a tenner-and you know how precious thier change is!

But if anyone has any tales or stories could you post them up for my project.

cheers

Patch.

Sorry that's all I can say on the buses in Bristol. Apart from the time they went on strike, sometime in the mid to late 70's or possibly early 80's. I cycled to work the first day of the strike, and every Bus stop had someone waiting on the Bus. I told them the Buses were on strike, and still they stood at the stops. The Horsefair used to be a nightmare for buses as they all seemed to run through there to whereever they were going. I remember the time my heavily pregnant wife got on the bus in the Horsefair, no one let her sit down, and when a seat became available a fit young man dived into it. Rude B******D. In my time the Corporation owned Half the service, apart from that I think you've got a job on asking for stories from this site, as so few people seem to know it exists. I would write to the Bus company itself, ask the Corporation, and even try the Local paper for any information they have. Also ask at Bus stops for any stories from the passengers, tell them why you want to know. They may help.