The Number 10 bus route, which runs from Avonmouth through Westbury on Trym, is being extended to Parkway Station from this month.
The change will restore a Stagecoach service that in April last year was curtailed to finish at Southmead Hospital after Bristol City Council said it could not afford to subsidise a service outside its boundaries and South Gloucestershire Council said it could not pick up the bill either.
The cut meant people from Westbury lost a direct link to the railway station, UWE Bristol and employment centres in Filton and Aztec West.
The return of the service will be welcomed by transport campaigners, including David Redgwell, who said at the time of the reduction that the two local authorities “needed their heads banging together”.
The No 10 route timetable is also being adjusted in an effort to improve punctuality.
Meanwhile, the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), which is responsible for public transport across the region, and the city council have promised to look into why people in Avonmouth were not told that the No 10 would be diverted from January to May this year while Kings Weston Road was shut for work on the footbridge replacement. This left some residents struggling to get to work or appointments.
The restoration of the No 10 is one of a number of changes to bus routes from September 1 as operators try to improve punctuality. Some of the services run by the biggest operator, First West of England, are in preparation for the introduction of 74 electric buses next year, which will require some routes to be extended to run into the “electrification hub” at the company’s Hengrove depot.
One bus route introduced only in April this year, the 15, which linked Avonmouth with Cribbs Causeway, has been axed by First. It will be replaced by a new WEST Local service run by Weca.
First says that across the city passenger numbers are up 14 per cent on last year.
Commercial director Rob Pymm said: “This is great news for the city as it means more people are choosing to travel by bus, which means we can invest more in our network to improve routes, provide more buses and new services, and ensure our buses are more punctual whilst reducing pollution and congestion.”
Detailed timetables will be available on travelwest.info