Bristol, Bath and the West
Welcome to the all-new First website in Bristol, Bath and the West.
I am delighted to join First as your new Managing Director. I am committed to growing and improving our service so that we provide a safe and comfortable journey for all our customers. Safety and putting our customers first are our top priorities.
Our services play an important part in the life of the cities, towns and villages that we serve in the region. We offer many people a real alternative to using the car, whether it be for travelling to work, shopping, going to hospital or university or indeed getting home safely after a good night out.
Over recent years we have invested heavily in new vehicles with many routes now operated by low floor easy access buses, and over the next five years, an investment of £68 million is planned in new buses and transport infrastructure in the region.
In Bristol, First along with Bristol and South Gloucestershire Councils have jointly invested in a satellite tracking system that allows “Real Time Information” to be displayed at bus stops. This tells customers when the next bus will arrive. It also gives us a vital insight into how traffic moves through our very congested streets, helping us to create timetables which more accurately reflect actual journey times. Customers will start to see the benefit of this over the coming months when we make changes to timetables in Bristol – the first of which takes place on March 16.
Bristol’s new shopping development – Cabot Circus – is planned to open in September. First will have an important role in supporting its success.
Bath is also undergoing a major redevelopment programme and First has helped by moving to a temporary bus station. When completed next year, customers will gain greatly from a new bus station and transport interchange in the city.
In Somerset, we have been working very closely with Somerset County Council to bring better and newer buses into the county. 2008 will see a joint investment in vehicles for Service 1 in Taunton. Together with the recent introduction of 4 new buses on Service 54, this will bring the total investment in Somerset to more than £1million.
If you have any comments or queries about any aspect of our service or this website, we would be pleased to hear from you, simply use our online feedback form and we promise to get back to you as soon as possible.
I would like to thank all our customers for travelling with us. If you haven't used the bus for a while or perhaps are looking for an alternative to taking the car, then I look forward to welcoming you aboard very soon.
Happy travelling!
Justin Davies - Managing Director
