The joint Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset MetroBus team has confirmed that the first bus operator to start
running part of the MetroBus service is First Bristol. First Bristol will start running the MetroBus route from
Ashton Vale to Temple Meads as soon as infrastructure works are
completed and roadside facilities are installed.
Progress on the first MetroBus route
to open is going well. The bus guideway with its associated cycle and
pedestrian track is well under construction, the skew bridge that guides
MetroBus over the Bristol to Portishead railway line and under the
elevated section of the A370 is nearly complete. In addition the
£3.8million refurbishment of Ashton Avenue Bridge is finished and it is
now open to pedestrians and cyclists, and the second bridge at Bathurst
Basin that doubles the road space available to all vehicles and provides
new space for cyclists and pedestrians is also progressing well.
Cllr Colin Hunt, Cabinet Member for
Planning, Transportation and the Strategic Environment at South
Gloucestershire Council said: “I am delighted to welcome First Bus as
the operator of our first MetroBus service, with their support for the
new off bus ticketing system alongside their investment in brand new,
high quality, low emission vehicles together we’ll be setting a new high
standard for bus travel in the area”
James Freeman, Managing Director of
First Bristol said: “MetroBus marks the start of an exciting new era for
public transport in and around Bristol, with even lower-emission
vehicles, faster boarding and dedicated sections of priority highway.
It will be an entirely new way of travelling with one of the main
features that the public will notice being that MetroBus only offers
off-bus ticketing, which means that customers will buy their tickets
before they board the vehicle which will result in a noticeably faster
journey.”
Cllr Asher Craig, Deputy Mayor with
responsibility for Public Transport at Bristol City Council added: “I am
very much looking forward to MetroBus services starting that will
benefit from the segregation and bus priority measures. These measures
and new smart ticketing will generate a noticeable uplift of quality and
reliability to the public transport network.”
Cllr Elfan Ap Rees, Deputy Leader at
North Somerset Council and Executive Member for Strategic Planning,
Highways and Transport added: “MetroBus is opening up new public
transport corridors that also benefit general traffic flow so it’s a
win-win situation for all. This is great news for our region’s economy
and will really help to tackle congestion.”
Buses for the first route to open
are on order and are on track to arrive well before services start,
allowing sufficient time for extensive vehicle testing and training to
familiarise drivers with the route and the use of guidewheels on the
busway. This also includes training for Bristol Airport Flyer drivers
who will be using the busway with a new fleet of vehicles providing
prompt and reliable journey times between the city of Bristol and the
Airport. The Airport also intends to maintain transport links with
Bedminster to ensure continued access for staff and passengers living
along the current route.
How MetroBus services will operate - how the Quality Partnership Scheme works.
The councils are not contracting
with or paying bus operators to run MetroBus services. The operators are
commercial companies running commercial services and they will take the
business risk. MetroBus is a scheme open to any operator at any time,
provided they meet the requirements of the Quality Partnership Scheme
and associated Voluntary Partnership Agreement.
Bristol, North Somerset and South
Gloucestershire councils and the Department for Transport have funded
the improvements to the network and put in place new MetroBus only
facilities, such as the busway from Long Ashton Park and Ride and the
new bus-only junction on and off the M32, segregated routes, separate
junctions, new bus lanes, improvements at junctions, 92 new bus stops
all of which will have interactive information points which will provide
a range of tickets. Together with twin sets of doors, the fully off-bus
ticket system will allow MetroBus to provide a reliable, predictable
service minimising the time spent at stops to benefit journey times.
Some of these facilities are only
available to MetroBus operators that agree to the terms of a sub
agreement (known as a Voluntary Partnership Agreement) to the Quality
Partnership Scheme (QPS). Others, such as the new layout in the city
centre, provide journey time reliability for the benefit of all buses in
the city, as well as providing additional road space for buses and
cyclists and improved journey time reliability for all traffic.
The QPS sets out the minimum
standards MetroBus operators must meet, including vehicle quality,
vehicle emissions, branding, maximum fares, minimum service frequencies
and how often the buses are cleaned. The full QPS will be published on
the travelwest.info website.
The Voluntary Partnership Agreement
(VPA) confirms the services that an operator will provide and sets the
framework for the monitoring of both services and the facilities. Under
the VPA, the MetroBus operator is responsible for the vehicles and the
running of the bus services. The Councils are responsible for the
MetroBus road network, roadside infrastructure and facilities including
bus shelters and interactive information points, online MetroBus sales
and information channels.
Regular meetings of operators and
the councils at the MetroBus Performance Group will monitor the services
and facilities to ensure standards on both sides are maintained as
agreed in the VPA and QPS. A jointly agreed MetroBus Performance Report
will also be published on the travelwest.info website.
