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When Bristol’s MetroBus routes are finally due to open
Against a backdrop of spiralling costs and setbacks, MetroBus has finally announced start dates for its two final links – but don’t expect to be travelling on them too soon.
The M2 route, linking Long Ashton Park and Ride, Temple Meads and the city centre, won’t be ready until the autumn of this year, after it was discovered that buses would not fit along the newly prepared route and adjustments need to be made.
Meanwhile, residents hoping to make use of the M1 service, between Hengrove and Cribbs Causeway, will have to wait until January 2019, when the line is due to open.
is needed now More than ever
The M3 route, linking Emersons Green and the city centre, via UWE Bristol, is still set to open on May 29.
Welcoming the update, South Bristol MP Karin Smyth took the opportunity to renew calls to ensure the Ashton Vale to Hengrove Metrobus link is delivered as promised, after it “fell by the wayside”.
Karin Smyth is calling on Tim Bowles to step up
She called the announcement on the progress of the two MetroBus routes positive, but argued that the lack of action on the “vital” south Bristol link is “notable”.
Smyth called on metro mayor Tim Bowles to step up after she wrote to him seeking reassurance that the route will be delivered, only to be told it is a legacy project which he has no direct involvement in.
“Now is the time for metro mayor Tim Bowles to step up,” she said. “The Ashton Vale to Hengrove Metrobus link is a no-brainer, which makes his inaction all the more baffling.
“It cuts across local authority boundaries, underpins access to vital NHS and education services, and boosts economic activity in the region.
“But in place of leadership, the metro mayor has given us a metaphorical shrug of the shoulders. Instead of looking for creative ways to drive the project forward, he is scrambling around for reasons not to. It beggars belief.”
Smyth added that Mhairi Threlfall, Bristol City Council’s cabinet member for transport, has agreed to meet local stakeholders to listen to concerns – and see what steps the council can take to ensure that this route is delivered.
Transport bosses say this is just the start of the Metrobus network, stating: “we are all confident that it will not be long before more routes are added to the network, helping to connect places where people live with work, college and leisure, tackling congestion and improving air quality.”
James Freeman, Dai Powell, Mhairi Threlfall and Colin Hunt with one of the new biogas buses
New biogas buses have been ordered by Bristol Community Transport, which will operate the M1 route and work on the necessary gas refuelling facilities at their depot in Bedminster is due to start soon, ready for services to start running in January 2019.
Read more: Social enterprise to operate Bristol’s major new MetroBus route
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