Better bus services for south Bristol communities

More buses and extended routes and operating hours, including new hourly night buses, will help better connect communities across Bristol.

Launching on 31 August 2025, improvements to the city’s bus network will include:

• Bringing back the 512 service, which stopped in March 2023. This will once again travel from south Bristol to Broadmead, serving Windmill Hill, Totterdown and Bedminster.
• Extending the 515 service to run later in the evening. The route goes from Stockwood to Imperial Park and currently stops each night at 7pm – from 31 August, it will run until 9.25pm.
• Extending the new number 16 service, which currently travels from Fishponds to the city centre, further south of the city to Whitchurch. As well as stopping in Kingswood, St George, Barton Hill and Temple Meads, the extended route will restore bus links to a number of areas across south Bristol.
• Expanding Bristol’s network of night buses. A range of buses will offer an hourly service between midnight and 6am on Friday and Saturday, including the 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 39, 70, 73, 74, m1 and an extension of the 43. This will supplement the existing night services on the 48, 49, 75 and 76.
• Expanding early morning journeys across the bus network, with most routes offering arrivals into the city centre before 6am.

This announcement follows the launch of three new bus services for Bristol, as part of the first phase of these improvements in April. The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority is now funding the first year of those new services (the 16, 36, and 37) using some of the region’s £13.5 million Bus Grant from government. The regional authority is also funding buses up to every ten minutes at peak times on weekdays for the m2 route, bringing its investment in those four routes to almost £1.5 million for 2025/26.

A total of £5.7 million for both phases has been set aside by the council, from income raised by Clean Air Zone charges, which will fund more buses and extend routes and operating hours over the next three years. These changes are set to follow the Kids Go Free bus travel offer over the school summer holidays for the West, delivered thanks to some of the region’s Bus Grant.

Councillor Ed Plowden, Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee, said:

“I’m delighted that we’re adding more capacity to Bristol’s public transport network by investing Clean Air Zone income into our bus services.

“We’re introducing earlier morning services across the city to support shift workers, and adding hourly night buses on Fridays, Saturdays and bank holiday Sundays to help people get home safely and support Bristol’s nighttime economy.

“In south Bristol, we’re boosting connectivity with the return of the popular 512, and extending the new 16 service to serve Whitchurch, as well as adding to the running hours of the 515.

“I’d like to thank the cross-party task and finish group who worked hard to prioritise how this funding should be invested and the Mayoral Combined Authority for putting the contracts in place.”

First Bus has registered the changes to the bus services with the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, who, as the transport authority, are responsible for overseeing and improving bus services in Bristol and the wider region and managing the contracts for these new routes.

Helen Godwin, the new Mayor of the West of England, said:

“My biggest priority remains getting our region moving. Investment by the Mayoral Combined Authority and Bristol City Council will mean better buses for passengers in Bristol and beyond. These new and improved routes are a great step forward, as we continue working with local authorities and bus operators across the West to tackle longstanding challenges.

“In the first two weeks of Kids Go Free, children and young people in our region took over 274,000 free journeys. In this new chapter for the West of England, together we’re starting to build the kind of bus service that local people deserve.”

Bristol City Council led the initiative and funding, with priorities shaped by a cross-party supported bus services task and finish group, chaired by Councillor Tim Rippington, to deliver long-term improvements to the city’s bus network.

For a full list of upcoming service changes visit TravelWest.

Original press release by The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority