BUS operator First is cutting the frequency of its bus service from Frenchay to the city centre, seven months after it was introduced.
From April 7 the 50 will run every hour rather than half hour between 6.25am and 8pm on weekdays and similar times on Saturdays.
The service was introduced last September after Frenchay and Stapleton had gone almost two years without a direct link to the city centre.
A First spokesperson said: “We introduced the service 50 every 30 minutes to assess demand in the Stapleton/Frenchay area, but passenger take-up has been low, and we have therefore reduced its frequency to hourly.
“However, we have adjusted its route closer to Eastgate/Tesco to see whether this is more attractive to potential customers in Stapleton/Frenchay and Easton.”
Buses will now run between Eastville Park and Bell Hill via Muller Road and Glenfrome Road, instead of Stapleton Road.
First is also cutting the frequency of the 47x Oldbury Court service, which also serves Frenchay Road and Croomes Hill, to half-hourly.
The timetables of the 48, 48x, 49 and 49x services serving Downend and Staple Hill respectively, have been revised to “improve punctuality and reliability”.
The spokesperson said: “Inbound 48x and 49x services will be slightly quicker, while outbound peak services will have additional time to account for congestion.”
As part of the change all 48 services will terminate at Downend, with only 48x services going on to Emersons Green, and 49 services will all terminate at Page Park, with only 49x services going on to Lyde Green.
This means passengers from Mangotsfield and other areas near the end of the route will need to change buses if they want to travel to Easton or Old Market.
There are no changes to the 7, 19 or m3/m3x services.
The new timetables can be found at tinyurl.com/4k5vhznu.