Ashton Vale to get bus service again after a year cut off

First Bus cancelled a service to Ashton Vale last year

A bus service will return to Bedminster a year after it was cancelled leaving residents "isolated and forgotten".

Transpora Group will bring back the number 23 bus to Ashton Vale on 8 April with routes to Bedminster and Bristol city centre.

In April 2023 First Bus cancelled the service "due to a combination of very low patronage and rising costs."

Head of commercial at Transpora Group, Simon Newport said they wanted to help the community be better connected.

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, he said: "We've got a gap in what our buses do during the day and we thought the best thing was to try and help the local community improve their connections."

Residents of Ashton Vale, a neighbourhood which is home to many elderly and disabled people, had been campaigning for a better bus service for a number of years.

But instead, the number 23 was one of eight bus routes cancelled in south Bristol last year.

In November, local resident Bernice McKendrick told councillors that the service cancellation meant the community were "cut off from normal life" and had been left feeling "isolated and forgotten".

In response to this week's announcement, Mark Bradshaw, Labour councillor for Bedminster said he was pleased as the issue had been a "major concern" for residents.

He wrote on X: "I welcome this new bus service by Transpora serving Ashton Vale Bedminster and hope it will be well used by local people.

"The gap in bus connections in the area has been a major concern since the withdrawal of the previous First Bus route."

Tessa Fitzjohn, Green party councillor for Bedminster, said it was "fantastic news".

Simon Newport said the operator had been "listening to what's been going on in the local community" and wanted to help.

He said: "We're not a PLC, we've got lower overheads so therefore we can probably make better returns.

"If it's successful and people use it then we can talk to WECA - the local transport authority - about seeing whether there's any funding to run journeys in the afternoon."