Road, Rail & Access Issues

[superking]

I see downside road will be shut from sept 4th from 8am to 8 pm for 4 weeks with road repairs. they advise drivers to use the A38.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

A1 Flyer at Temple Meads

When I was at Temple Meads station on Thursday afternoon I noticed that the Flyer buses were picking up at the stops used by services 8 and 9 (Clifton and Redland) from the station. The taxi rank had been extended along the front of the station to where the Flyer used to load.

As this was the first day of the Bristol Balloon Fiesta and there were many shuttle buses operating further down the main approach road I thought perhaps that this was a temporary arrangement to prevent the rear end of the line of parked taxi cabs getting in the way of the shuttle buses.

However, there is a notice on the BRS Twitter feed giving details of the Flyer bus stop change and there is nothing to suggest it's a temporary arrangement.

I've been at Temple Meads again today and the switching of the Flyer bus stop to across the road where the single-decker 8s and 9s depart for the Centre and Clifton/Redland seems to be permanent, as is the extended taxi rank where the pick-up is now where the Flyer bus stop used to be.

I was told a few weeks ago by a member of the Flyer staff that the Flyer contract is due for renewal next year. At times the Flyers are full to bursting and I wondered about double deckers being introduced. I was told by this staff member that the canopy above the former stop was too low to permit double deckers. As the canopy is part of the listed Temple Meads station I doubt that it can be altered.

There is a canopy over the new stop but it only extends part of the way and double deckers use a stop a bit further down the station approach incline on other services.

 

[Aviador]

Is the Flyer a frequent bus service? Is it something they could make more frequent if it's so popular, or maybe even varying the route if that's possible?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Is the Flyer a frequent bus service? Is it something they could make more frequent if it's so popular, or maybe even varying the route if that's possible?

It runs up to every 8 minutes in each direction for most of the day from early morning till mid evening, when it reduces to every 20 minutes and then every hour from around midnight till about 0500 hours. There are 12 liveried Volvo long wheel-base single deckers in the fleet operated by First Bristol vehicles and crews on behalf of the airport.

There have been route variations in the past. Currently it runs from airport to Temple Meads railway station (about 25 mins duration) then on to Bristol country bus and coach station (another 10 mins) before returning to Temple Meads via a different central route and then on to the airport.

The snag is that the peaks and troughs of the air network means there are times when the buses are overloaded (or would be if everyone was allowed on board) and other times when they are fairly lightly loaded.

Next year the new Metrobus routes will be open and it's believed that some Flyers will use the Metrobus routes out of the city, part of which will be on dedicated roadways.

 

[tpm]

I'm not convinced double-deckers would make sense. The current flyer busses are modified to provide baggage racks, which take up considerable space yet are still full to the brim when the busses are packed. I can't see people lugging their suitcases up the tiny staircases in a double-decker. I know the Bath A4 uses them of course, but it's rarely very full. Once the MetroBus track is open, they should be able to run more frequent services with the existing stock of vehicles and number of drivers, since the journey will presumably be shorter.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The use double deckers on the Edinburgh Waverley Bridge-EDI shuttle and they are often quite heavily loaded in my experience, even since the tram started to run. They also used double deckers on the central Dublin-DUB shuttle when I used that two or three years ago.

I take your point about lugging suitcases up the stairs but younger and fitter people (in the main) seemed to cope.

I hope the journey will be shorter on the MetroBus route but it might only be a matter of a minute or two - assuming the buses still commence their journey at the bus/coach station and make for Temple Meads (where the majority of travellers are usually picked up and dropped off) which can be the most congested part of the journey.

They might have to produce a two-route network again as Bedminster still sees a fair number of pick-ups and drop-offs, especially staff.

There was also vague talk at one of the consultative committee meetings earlier this year of the airport beginning a Weston Flyer. Judging by the number of people who access the airport using the current A2 service from Weston, I'm not sure about a Weston Flyer. From memory, I believe the airport master plan talks about a Weston Flyer not being viable until 8 mppa is reached. If that is so 8 mppa is not that far away with 7.4 million or thereabouts likely to be the 2016 year-end total.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

South Bristol Link Road

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/bristo...-of-the-year/story-29671927-detail/story.html

The South Bristol Link Road which will link the A370 (Bristol-Weston-super-Mare road) at the Long Ashton bypass with the A38 (Bristol-Plymouth road) just outside the Bristol boundary is on schedule to open by the end of this year.

It should ease the passage of traffic going to the airport from the M5 at Avonmouth via A4 Portway as the tedious and slow crawl through narrow and one-way streets, that are often congested, around Ashton Gate and part of Bedminster will be avoided.

The road is being funded with £27 million from the Department for Transport, £8.4 million from Bristol City Council, £5.3 from North Somerset Council and a contribution of £3.2 million from Bristol Airport. I presume that the airport contribution is part of the section 106 agreement relating to the planning approvals for its major expansion.

Incidentally, the main contractor is a South Wales company and when work around the airport roads was carried out earlier this year another South Wales company was involved, so at least Wales is getting a bit of payback for all the passengers from there who use BRS.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Tram link?

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/trams-could-run-from-bristol-airport-to-city-centre-but-will-it-happen-this-time/story-29714526-detail/story.html

North Somerset Council has applied for a £2 million government grant to fund a study into ways of improving links between the airport and the city. "Options being considered for the new 'Bristol South West Economic Link' (SWBL) include introducing a tram system – similar to those seen in other large cities - or a new rail link."

It won't happen in my lifetime. Some years ago under the Labour government national funding was set aside to build a tram system in Bristol from the centre to the northern edge. Pathetic squabbling between Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire unitary authority that is responsible for much of the urban area in the north and east of the conurbation could not agree where the northern end of the line should be sited. One wanted Parkway station and the other wanted Cribbs Causeway regional shopping centre.

In the end the government, quite reasonably in my view, said, "Oh, s*d it. If you can't agree you don't get the money", and then withdrew the promised funding.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/bristo...ace-car-park/story-29718564-detail/story.html

Weston Flyer

The above link is to a newspaper article about approval being given for the airport's application to develop the south side green belt car park.

However, it also mentions that the number of people using the airport via public transport continues to grow and is expected to reach 15% this year.

This is leading to the launch of an hourly 'Weston Flyer' being brought forward, although the article does not say when it will commence: next summer presumably.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Weston Flyer

The airport has issued a press release, part of which deals with access issues including a new Weston Flyer.

In the press release, airport CEO Robert Sinclair states:

Public transport options will also be enhanced, with a ‘Weston Flyer’ express bus service between the Airport and Weston-super-Mare scheduled for launch in spring next year. This follows the successful introduction of the Falcon service from Plymouth, Exeter and Taunton earlier this year. Surface access from the north, east and west will also be enhanced by the opening of the South Bristol Link this winter, improving journey time reliability for the Bristol Flyer express bus between the Airport and Bristol city centre, including Bristol Temple Meads railway station.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...edia-centre/2016/11/new-silver-zone-reception

A Weston Flyer might mean the end of the local First bus service A2 that currently links Weston with the airport via local villages. I hope not because it's a very useful facility. I suspect the Weston Flyer might start as hourly.

I'm not sure how the new South Bristol link road will improve the Bristol Flyer times unless the buses are to use the link road which, until the Metro bus routes are open, won't noticeably speed up the Flyer's progress. Furthermore, it would miss out the Bedminster section which sees a lot of passengers (unless a proportion of Flyers are to still route via that suburb).

 

[superking]

they might be thinking when the new road opens that the a4 into Bristol will be quiet and continue to do the same stops with less road traffic. a new road to take traffic from other routes does not work. the same thing happened in London with the m25 opening. it was said the north circular would be quiet but when all open the circular traffic stayed the same and we all know what the m25 is like at times.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The South Bristol link road (SBL) might lessen the traffic a bit through Bedminster but most of the traffic that will use the SBL would currently be using Winterstoke Road past the City ground onto the Portway to access the M5 at Avonmouth rather than travel into the city centre through the main part of Bedminster.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The airport commissioned a study by aviation analysts York Aviation to estimate the number of passengers using London airports from its catchment. It's part of its attempts to get better surface access to BRS

The press release issued today can be visited at https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...dia-centre/2016/12/leakage-to-london-airports

It is reproduced below:

1,000 years of time wasted by flying from the wrong airport
Created: 8th Dec 2016

Seven million airline passengers are wasting almost 1,000 years in additional travel time and £182 million between them by choosing to fly out of the main London airports instead of their local airport, a study reveals today.

Holidaymakers flying to European leisure destinations are wasting the most time and money, the analysis of official figures shows.

Each passenger is £27 worse off in terms of lost time and travel costs per trip over the past four years, the analysis by York Aviation consultancy for Bristol Airport found.

Last year alone, leisure passengers wasted £101 million and business passengers £82 million. The average holidaymaker lost £17 each per trip compared with £67 extra for each business passenger.

The number of passengers from the South West and South Wales flying out of London airports has risen by almost 20 per cent over the past four years to seven million in 2015. Those passengers endured an additional 512 million minutes, or 974 years, 45 days, 13 hours and 20 minutes of extra travel time on the motorways and railways.

Applying official guidelines for transport appraisals, the researchers calculated that this lost time and extra travel equated to £182 million worth of additional cost in 2015.

Most of the ‘leakage’ from the South West and South Wales to London was for short-haul travel - 3.8 million short-haul passengers and 3.1 million long-haul passengers.

Passengers flying from Heathrow lost £100 million, those traveling from Gatwick incurred £54 million extra costs, Stansted £19 million and Luton £10 million.

More than 2.7 million people chose to fly from London to destinations served by Bristol Airport, wasting 200 million minutes and £72 million in lost time and money.

Bristol Airport is calling for improvements to road and rail links to the main airport serving the South West and South Wales. The airport is the only Top 10 UK airport without a rail link or dual carriageway access. It has invested £150 million in new facilities since 2010 and was the most punctual airport in the world last year.

Robert Sinclair, Chief Executive Officer of Bristol Airport, said:

“We are well placed to play our part in solving the country’s airport capacity crisis, and save travellers hundreds of millions in lost time. With the third runway at Heathrow still several years away, it makes little sense to continue funnelling passengers from other regions to airports in the South East.

“With better road and rail links, we could take the pressure off Heathrow and Gatwick and keep business connected and holidaymakers flying.”

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox, whose North Somerset constituency includes the airport, said:

“It is vital that businesses can connect efficiently with markets in the post-Brexit world. Building world-class infrastructure around our regional airports will play a crucial role in supporting the trade links our country needs.”

 

[TheLocalYokel]

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/housin...ol-outskirts/story-29976320-detail/story.html

Light rail link to BRS?

Developers and planning experts want to drop plans to build thousands of new homes near Weston-super-Mare in favour of doing so on the edge of Bristol instead, between the A370 (Weston road) and A38 (Bridgwater road). Their rationale is that most people would be working in the Bristol area and infrastructure there is more developed.

There is a proposal for a new park and ride on the A38, an extension of the existing Long Ashton park and ride and a study of the potential for a light rail link along the A38 to BRS. I'm not sure how practical that would be given the steepish Barrow Hill (about one and a quarter miles in length) between the city and the airport.

The last I heard the local authority was seeking government funding to explore ways of improving surface access to BRS.

If any of this happens, it won't be for several years.

 

[superking]

I drove on downside road Monday. downside road is good with a new surface. Shame about downhill through the coombe. Many pot holes and road surface breaking up. Reminds me of a plough field all the way down to the A370.

 

[sierrafoxtrot]

I drove on downside road Monday. downside road is good with a new surface. Shame about downhill through the coombe. Many pot holes and road surface breaking up. Reminds me of a plough field all the way down to the A370.

I dont think the new surface is that great, driving along it doesnt seem smooth to me and has the effect of wobbles and vibrations, why they couldnt carry onto the A370 and finish the job!

 

[superking]

never been a good surface on downside. its the best you will get,as to me it looks like ripe for tar and chippings next summer. mind you the traffic using downside should drop when the Bristol link road is open. the most to gain will be barrow gurney.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The Independent has published its annual report on the UK's easiest and hardest airports to reach. BRS is at number 12 out of 26, the same position it occupied in last year's survey.

I'm not convinced about the methodology used to obtain these results.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel...row-gatwick-birmingham-southend-a7466266.html

 

[superking]

I see the new link road from the A38 to theA370 is due to open Monday the 16th of January.Im sure the council will be doing surveys with the cut trough routes,with barrow gurney being the main cut through. I hope they do release findings with what the new road will do for barrow gurney traffic.

 

[tpm]

Apparently the Barrow Gurney route is going to be closed off for a few weeks from Monday as well, I'm sure that'll help

I found the airport's press release / news item not particularly helpful, it's like "here's a new road, go figure out if it affects you yourself".

Would've expected a bit more on that front like a summary for approaches from various directions, e.g. it makes things much easier for people coming from the East Bristol / A4 / Bath direction (and the A4 bus will use the new route), people coming in from the M5 north, Bristol West / the Portway, etc.