More certainty for passengers
Thornbury and Yate MP Claire Young has welcomed a series of changes to local bus services, while warning that reliability and connections between routes remain unresolved issues for passengers. Writing in a local newspaper column, she said buses were a regular subject of conversations with residents, who depend on public transport for journeys to work, education and health services.
Her comments come after a year in which several services have been expanded or given longer-term backing. The Y2C pilot has become a regular service with a revised route, extending its reach to Iron Acton, Ladden Garden Village and Westerleigh Road. The change is intended to connect more residents with local shops and businesses, according to Ms Young, who said it represented one of several significant improvements secured during the year.
The same service has also replaced the 918 for the school journey from Severn Beach. That change followed a campaign by families seeking to retain the connection. Under the new arrangement, passengers will pay ordinary fares rather than an additional charge for the school trip. Ms Young described the move as welcome news for the families involved.
Routes linking communities and services
A separate change highlighted in the column is the introduction of the 535 service. The route provides a direct connection from Thornbury to Southmead Hospital and SGS College, while also stopping in villages along the way. The absence of a direct service to those destinations had been raised with the MP by residents in Thornbury.
| Service | Change or concern |
|---|---|
| Y2C | Made regular and extended to additional communities |
| 918 | Replaced on the Severn Beach school run |
| 535 | New direct link to Southmead Hospital and SGS College |
| Y6 | Service identified as requiring continued protection |
Ms Young said the strongest development was that the services now have three-year contracts. She argued that the agreements give residents greater confidence that routes used for employment, school and other activities will continue into the future. In her assessment, this marked progress compared with the position several years ago, when she said some communities had been left without any bus service.
“There is still more to do.”
That warning was central to the column. Ms Young said maintaining essential routes remained a continuing challenge, including the Y6, which provides links to Bristol Parkway and Southmead Hospital. She described the service as an important connection for local residents and said its future required ongoing attention.
Residents raise reliability concerns
Feedback gathered during a recent visit to Pucklechurch also pointed to practical problems on the network. Residents were pleased that services to their village had been retained, but some raised concerns about how reliably buses were operating. The 620 was described as frequently late, while passengers reported poor driving on the 525, including buses taking an incorrect route and pulling away before elderly passengers had sat down.
Residents also said that timetables did not always match the departure times of onward buses to destinations such as Bristol. That can make connections difficult, particularly for people whose journeys require more than one service. Ms Young’s account presents a picture of a network with new routes and longer contracts, but one where the day-to-day experience still depends on punctual running, safe boarding and workable links between services. For passengers travelling from Yate and surrounding communities, those details remain as important as the routes shown on the timetable.
