FIRST'S 33798 AND 47441 ON BOND STREET
Bristol is the largest city in South West England. Bristol Tramways, which was state-owned from 1948, gradually replaced their tramways with bus services between the First and Second World Wars. The company later became known as Bristol Omnibus Company and became a subsidiary of the National Bus Company in 1969.
In 1980, the government started to privatise and deregulate bus services in the United Kingdom. As a result, the company was split into two, to make it easier to sell. One company, which adopted the 'Bristol City Line' brand in 1985, operated the city services and the other company, Badgerline Limited, became separate in 1986 and operated the country services around Bristol. Badgerline was sold in a management buyout in 1986 and City Line was sold to Midland Red West on 1987.
As a result of deregulation of bus services, Badgerline were able to compete with City Line on their city services, however Badgerline acquired Midland Red West in 1988, which meant all Bristol's bus services were all operated by one company. Badgerline later went on to merge with GRT Group and become FirstGroup, who still operate the majority of bus services in and around Bristol now.
In 2018, a unique modern bus system known as Metrobus was introduced in Bristol. The Metrobus routes: m1, m2 & m3 are operated jointly by First and CT Plus. Passengers on these services benefit from a 'buy before you board' ticketing option, which leads to faster boarding times and a reduced journey time.
Long-distance coach services connect Bristol to destinations such as Swansea, London, Cardiff and Hull and are run by National Express, Megabus and Flixbus. Stagecoach operate the majority of their own Megabus services. National Express services in Bristol see coach operators such as Bennetts, Chalfont and Edwards Coaches visiting the city as sub-contractors. Flixbus services in Bristol are operated mostly by Turners Coachways who are based in Bristol.
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Vehicle Variety |  Most local bus services in Bristol are operated using double deckers, mostly ADL Enviro 400s, some the MMC body, some with the City body. Some routes do also use Wright Gemini-bodied Volvos and Wright StreetDecks. A few routes use single decker buses: ADL Enviro 200s, Optare Solos and Wright StreetLites. A few of the less frequent rural routes from Bristol use Mercedes-Benz minibuses. |
| Operator Variety |  Most bus services in Bristol are operated by First West of England. HCT Group also have a presence in the city on a few routes, trading as Bristol Community Transport. Stagecoach, Euro Taxis and CT Coaches also have a minor presence in Bristol. |
| Quantity of Buses |  Bristol has quite a high quanitity of buses in the city centre. Many of the bus services in Bristol run at a fairly high frequency. |
| Photograph Opportunities |  There are various locations in Bristol to take photos of buses. Some routes serve different parts of the city centre. Bond Street has a bus lane, which makes it easy to photograph them as they depart the bus stops. |
First's 33798, an ADL Enviro 400 MMC, arriving into Bristol City Centre on a 49 service from Emersons Green as it heads towards its terminus on Rupert Street, passing StreetLite DF 47441 loading passengers for Bristol Zoo
CT Plus' 1513, a Mini Pointer Dart, working a 52 service along Bond Street to South Bristol Community Hospital
South Gloucestershire Bus & Coach's SG38, a Van Hool TX21 Altano in 'Megabus' livery, parked in the bus stop on Bond Street
First's 36802, an ADL Enviro 400 MMC with 'Metrobus M3' route branding, arrives into Bristol City Centre along Bond Street on the M3 service, passing TransBus ALX400-bodied Volvo B7TL 32254 on a 6 service to Broad Quay
First's 33971, an ADL Enviro 400 MMC, stopped at the bus stop outside KFC on Union Street, loading passengers for a cross-city 2A service towards Brentry
First's 33936, an ADL Enviro 400 MMC in one of the 'Park & Ride' liveries, on Rupert Street as it operates a park & ride service to Brislington
First's 33980, an ADL Enviro 400 MMC leaves Bristol Bus Station via Lower Maudlin Street on a 349 service to Keynsham
Abus' 531, an East Lancs Myllenium Lowlander-bodied DAF DB250, on Lower Maudlin Street shortly after departing Bristol Bus Station on a 349 service to Keynsham (now operated by First after Abus' closure in 2021)
First's 39432, an ADL Enviro 400 CBG-bodied Scania with 'citylines east' branding, on Colston Avenue as it works a 43 service to Kingswood
First's 32347, a Wright Eclipse Gemini-bodied Volvo B7TL, turning from College Green onto Anchor Road as it works a 2A service towards Stockwood
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