A record 600,000 passengers have used Bristol Airport’s Flyer bus over the past year – ten times the number achieved during its first year of operation in the late 1990s.
The service, run by First in partnership with Bristol Airport, operates between Clifton, the City Centre, Temple Meads station and the airport.
All 12 buses are wheelchair accessible, have free wi-fi and power points for charging laptops and phones, and run every 10 minutes at peak times, substantially reducing connection times with rail and coach services.
The record figure includes increasing numbers of airport staff – a fact which helped it win gain silver in the recent West of England Travel Plan Awards which celebrate employers’ success in bringing in sustainable staff travel schemes.
Airport ground transportation commercial manager Peter Downes said: “These latest figures are a thumbs-up from the travelling public for the new Flyer vehicles and enhanced timetable. By making the bus service more accessible, comfortable and convenient we are making good progress towards achieving our target of 15 per cent of air passengers using public transport.”
First's regional commercial and business growth director Marc Reddy added: “We have invested around £2m over the past couple of years in upgrading the vehicles. The new buses offer customers increased comfort and with Euro 5 engines and our DriveGreen system fitted on them, too, they are an environmentally-friendly alternative to travelling by private car. Certainly these two factors, along with the fact that they run frequently, help to make the decision to travel by bus even easier.”
