CHANGES to bus services between Bristol and Chipping Sodbury have been announced.

First is making a number of changes to bus services in and around Bristol, including the 342/X42 service, from February 2.

The route is highly used by workers employed in Bristol, shoppers and students.

The changes are to the timetable of some early morning and early evening journeys which First says will improve the punctuality and reliability of the service and deal with some issues regarding late running.

Monday to Friday early morning departures at 5.40am, 6.35am, 6.55am and 7.10am from Chipping Sodbury to Bristol Bus Station will be brought forward by either five or 10 minutes. In addition, Monday to Friday departures from Bristol to Chipping Sodbury at 6.45am will be brought forward by five minutes and departures from Bristol at 5.25pm and 5.55pm will be pushed back by five minutes.

There are changes to several other routes in and out of the city and in Somerset.

Simon Ford, commercial manager for First in the West of England, said: “We are making a series of changes in February affecting services in and around Bristol.

“In many cases the changes are positive, leading to improvements in the frequency on some key services.

“We would advise all customers to check the timetables for all the affected services carefully. In some cases some departure times for journeys are changing quite substantially so people should take the time to check how the alterations may affect them personally.”

He added: “The new timetables will be uploaded to the website from January 21 and will be made available in hard copy format, to pick up from travel shops, from January 29.”

For more information about the changes or to view timetables for the affected services go to www.firstgroup.com/bristol or www.facebook.com/FirstWestofEngland