The South Glos Post

The architect of a youth bus pass scheme is encouraging local youngsters to take advantage of the scheme before the school holidays end.

Cllr Sheila Cook, Conservative Cabinet Member for Children and Young People on South Gloucestershire Council, is appealing to local youngsters to take advantage of cheaper bus fares that are available to them, thanks to the council.

The district’s youth concessionary travel scheme entitles 14-18-year-olds in full time education to half adult bus fares on evening, weekend and school holiday journeys.

The scheme was the brainchild of Cllr Cook who first proposed a council motion on the subject back in 2006. She said:

“One of the biggest issues young people raise locally is transport, particularly its cost and how that discourages greater use of public transport, and so we have been determined to do something about it.

We are proud to be one of the few councils in the country to have introduced this sort of travel concession for local youngsters and we very much want them to take it up.

With just one week left of the summer holidays, it’s an ideal time to get hold of a pass, which will help access the huge range of activities available across the local area.

We have a special website for South Gloucestershire youngsters called ‘Youth Unlimited’ and all the information they need is on there.”

Source: Conservative Group on South Gloucestershire Council

Work started yesterday (Monday 5th July) to construct an additional bus lane on Lysander Road, Cribbs Causeway.

The new southbound bus lane will be constructed between the Pegasus Road and Merlin Road junctions on Lysander Road. The new lane will serve the shops and facilities at Cribbs Causeway and will help to alleviate delays to bus services caused by congestion in the area.

The existing carriageway will be widened to accommodate the new bus lane so no general traffic lanes will be lost.

To minimise disruption during the works, traffic will be reduced down to one lane southbound between Monday and Friday night during the week. At weekends both lanes will remain open.

Construction is expected to last for 18 weeks. There will be a break in construction over the busy Christmas period to prevent traffic delays. Any outstanding works on the project will be completed early in the New Year after Christmas.

Cllr Brian Allinson, executive member for planning, transportation and strategic environment at South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), said: “This additional bus lane will be an entirely new stretch of road and is one of a number planned to reduce delays for bus users in South Gloucestershire. Careful consideration has been given to ensure there is minimum disruption to road users at busy periods.”

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Source: South Gloucestershire Council

South Gloucestershire’s new youth concessions bus pass – ‘Youth Unltd’ – has been officially launched.

South Gloucestershire Council has been working with the Youth Parliament and local schools to promote the new pass giving students discounted bus travel.

This is a flagship scheme to give greater freedom to young people in the district and South Gloucestershire Council has invested £1.2million in it.

The pass provides half adult fare for any single or return journey ticket purchased for travel into or out of South Gloucestershire. It is for those aged 14-18 years old, in full-time education or training and living in South Gloucestershire.

The bus pass can be used all day during local school holidays, on weekends and bank holidays, and after 6pm on weekdays.

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Source: South Gloucestershire Council

Work to widen the roundabout where junction 1 of the M32 meets the A4174 Ring Road has been completed as part of the Greater Bristol Bus Network scheme.

The roundabout layout between the A4174 and the M32 has been altered to provide an additional lane for all vehicles in order to reduce congestion and speed up the flow of traffic. This means that there are now four lanes for general traffic all the way around the roundabout. The work has been carried out as part of the Greater Bristol Bus Network, a scheme to improve bus services throughout the Bristol area. As the additional lane added is for the use of all vehicles, the improvements will not only benefit the buses along the route but also general motorists.

Cllr Brian Allinson, executive member for planning, transportation and strategic environment, said: “This is a heavily congested area for all road users so these new measures will benefit everyone by adding additional highway capacity at this busy junction. The Greater Bristol Bus Network is not only about improving the local bus network but it is also aimed at improving the traffic flow for all vehicles.”

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Source: South Gloucestershire Council