Find out more about Bristol’s bid for a metro-style public transport network in the city. Visit our new ASK Bristol on transport blog which aims to engage and discuss on major transport issues in the city.
The final bid will be submitted on September 9, 2011 by the council and our neighbourhing authorities in the West of England Partnership. Greater Bristol will be competing with areas from across the country and is seeking £114 million to create Bristol’s Bus Rapid Transit Network.
It’s the region’s last big chance to secure national finance for major transport schemes. The government will cease to invest big pots of money in local public transport initiatives beyond this funding round.
Greater Bristol’s proposed network – running for much of the route on fast, dedicated lanes – would provide a fast, high-quality alternative to commuting by car, cutting journey times by as much as 40 per cent.
The positive impact for South Bristol is expected to be particularly strong. It is currently held back economically by lack of proper transport connections.
The Greater Bristol Bus Network is on its way. And it will provide a fast, efficient network of major commuter bus routes into the city centre from in and around Bristol.
902 Park and ride bus centre
But what about Bristol’s wider network of routes which serve local neighbourhoods? Most people would agree that these routes need a radical overhaul. Years of tinkering around the edges has led to a network that is patchy and inconsistent.
Many of the routes haven’t changed for decades, and others have been scrapped for commercial reasons, or for lack of funding, leaving passengers feeling last in line.
The experience of other cities in the UK and Europe shows us how buses in Bristol could be better organised. So now Bristol City Council is looking to work with private sector service providers to overhaul the existing network to make it serve the city better.
As a first step, the council is holding an ASK Bristol discussion to gain an understanding of residents experience with local bus routes, how far they have to walk to their nearest stop and how long they have to wait for a change of bus.
It’s only a ‘public conversation’ at this stage to gather some informal views before we sit down with local bus operators and map out a first draft of a full bus review for consultation.
Throughout 2010, there will be a number of further stages to this and ways to get involved, and we will be sharing more information about this on ASK Bristol.
Cllr Jon Rogers - Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability
Councillor Jon Rogers – Executive Member for Transport and Sustainability –
I’m a great believer in early engagement and keeping people informed about fundamental issues like the Bristol’s bus route review. We used this approach on the city centre layout debate on ASK Bristol and we’re asking people once again to join the debate on ASK Bristol about Bristol’s bus routes and network. This will help us decide what the review should cover and how we go about it. By getting involved at this very early stage, it means we can keep you informed as we proceed.
We’re using our new approach to involving citizens and groups with the bus route review which is about sharing early ideas and developing them together. This process will continue through 2010 and changes to bus routes and the network won’t begin until 2011 at the earliest. Use this forum to talk about:
• How should we carry out the Bristol bus route review
• What are the main citywide / strategic issues which should be considered in this review
We’ll be adding an interactive map soon which will enable you to place pointers on a map, comment on individual services and suggest new routes.
By getting involved in this debate or by signing-up for the ASK Bristol newsletter, we’ll keep you informed as the review progresses.
Young people on public transport
The Sustainable Development and Transport Commission asked young people for their views on public transport. Here is the video the commission watched:
On March 9th 2010 ‘Ask Bristol’ commenced a debate on behalf of the then Executive member for Transport and Sustainability (Cllr Jon Rogers) to discuss a proposed review of the bus network.
Responses were received up to October 2010, although the majority of the debate ran during March to May 2010.
The intention had been to inform a full review of the commercial and Council supported network during 2011.
During Summer 2010 it became clear that FIRST would not be in a position to resource such a comprehensive review and the commercial review was reduced to considering minor changes to improve the existing network (for example around the Hengrove area). There was also limited interest in a major review from the neighbouring authorities.
The change in government and emphasis on cuts in budgets has also had a significant impact on the ability to consider a detailed review of the network.
However, this initial debate has helped to inform the process of preparing new Contracts for the bus services supported by the Council (as considered by the more recent Ask Bristol conversation on “Supported Transport Services” which closed on May 11th 2011). These have included:
Some assessment of the transport models to recognise where there may be significant numbers of car journeys and no direct competition from an existing bus route to assess whether introducing a bus service could be viable.
Consideration of the potential patronage and viability of a new or revised bus route to serve the Crews Hole area of East Bristol.
Consideration of splitting existing supported orbital services and adjusting their routes and frequencies to improve overall use, clarity and reliability.
The procurement of services supported by the Council at the same time to make it possible to package the services, attract other companies into the market and to reduce the impact of the expected significant increase in costs.
Other comments associated with the development of SMART/through ticketing, major transport schemes, bus lanes and enforcement, parking controls and other measures have been noted as part of the ongoing development work in these areas.
The new visualisations show how a new people orientated, rather than traffic dominated, environment, could be created. The concept demonstrates the opportunity to create a series of linked public spaces, set within an attractive new green setting – more trees, and planting that would provide softening at ground level. It demonstrates that the Cenotaph, could sit within its own identifiable space without moving from its current location, whilst enjoying greater public access, through being at a point between new pedestrian crossing points.
The images also show the benefits to pedestrians, bus users, and cyclists, in having an environment that is more special to them, through being of a more human scale and, less interrupted by vehicular movement. Improvement of the quality of experience for the bus traveller is seen as crucial to attracting greater use of public transport, and having a high quality environment where people access buses is felt particularly important. It is also recognised that, in further enhancing the City’s most central of public spaces, it will become more attractive still to local people and visitors alike.’
Visualisation from Quay Street towards Colston Tower
City centre promenade - north section
Aerial visualisation of the Cenotaph
Remember – these are early visualisations and as with the rest of the City Centre layout debate, no decisions have been made. We’re trying something new with this debate of sharing early ideas and images with you in order to hear your ideas and develop a joint approach.
This discussion has now closed. Thank you for the useful comments and information you have provided. These will be used to inform the Major Scheme Business Case submission to the DfT we are currently preparing as part of the North Fringe to Hengrove Package which is due to be submitted in late March 2010.
This is not the end of our engagement process with the public and other stakeholders. As the project progresses, there will be many more opportunities to have your say on Bristol City Centre. Developing and regenerating Bristol City Centre, especially the Centre, can be an emotive issue and we need to make sure this is done in a considered manner. We look forward to engaging with you about this in the future.
Draft plans have been drawn up looking at how Bristol city centre might incorporate a bus rapid transit system in the future.
Cllr Jon Rogers - Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability
Cllr Jon Rogers, Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainable Development, comments: “By 2015 our bus rapid transit system must connect in the centre and work in harmony with the Greater Bristol Bus Network arrivals and departures. When it does, we’d like passengers to alight in a smart, sustainable space, with clean air and a calm atmosphere.
“2015 is a long way off, but we need to open the debate on what could work and what plans could mean for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users and motorists.
“We’re many miles from a formal plan, and even further from a decision. But this is your city and we know that many Bristol people will have strong views, so we have sketched out a very rough plan, which we call Draft A to kick-start a debate.
“It has been drawn up so we can all start thinking about this now, make the necessary changes before presenting more formal proposals and hopefully come up with a final plan which does the job it needs to do, but with some consensus that it is a good plan.
“When the centre was first laid out in 2000, the council already knew it needed to incorporate future changes for new modes of public transport. So there would not be a huge re-modelling job, just a reworking of the current design with traffic movements realigned and public transport interchanges further developed.”
City centre draft A
Cllr Rogers said the aim was to achieve:
A route through the centre for the bus rapid transit network incorporating plans for an interchange
a safer and more accessible space for pedestrians
a way to keep cyclists safer
a better environment
a peaceful, respectful and well-landscaped Cenotaph monument
a way to manage taxi traffic and party-goers
Cllr Rogers added: “We will have to revisit the issue of motor traffic and its impact in this space. But by 2015, Bristol will be a very different place.
“Public transport including bus rapid transit and the Greater Bristol Bus Network will provide a far greater percentage of journeys to the Centre. And cyclists will have doubled in number.”
Visualisation towards Colston Hall and Colston Tower
Draft A plans include the following ideas:
general traffic would be reduced to one lane in each direction down the Hippodrome side.
the whole of the east side would be designed for public transport.
the western end of Baldwin Street would be closed to general traffic.
two-way traffic using Baldwin Street would reroute down Marsh Street.
Colston Street could be closed at the bottom to all but buses and a shared space considered in front of the Colston Hall.
Work is now underway to better understand what impact this could have on existing traffic patterns and existing public transport services and whether it is feasible. Also it will look at what other schemes may be possible or necessary to mitigate what is proposed.
This discussion has now closed. Thank you for the useful comments and information you have provided. These will be used to inform the Major Scheme Business Case submission to the DfT we are currently preparing as part of the North Fringe to Hengrove Package which is due to be submitted in late March 2010.
This is not the end of our engagement process with the public and other stakeholders. As the project progresses, there will be many more opportunities to have your say on Bristol City Centre. Developing and regenerating Bristol City Centre, especially the Centre, can be an emotive issue and we need to make sure this is done in a considered manner. We look forward to engaging with you about this in the future.
Find out more about Bristol’s bid for a metro-style public transport network in the city. Visit our new ASK Bristol on transport blog which aims to engage and discuss on major transport issues in the city.
