FIRST Bus has improved its services linking Thornbury with Bristol.

Passengers who are used to travelling the route on the 78 or the 79 will be in for a surprise from May 27 onwards.

Buses that pull up at the bus stops will show service T1 or T2 instead of service 78 or 79.

Apart from the change to service numbers, passengers will also notice an improvement in the vehicles.

The T1 service will be operated by some of the latest high-spec double deckers to have joined the First Bristol fleet, complete with modern interior and USB charging points.

The vehicles have almost twice as many seats as existing vehicles and are equipped with the most environmentally friendly Euro VI engines on the market.

These will reduce NOx emission by 95 per cent and improve air quality along the route.

The T2 service will see modern single deckers, with comfortable seating and USB charging points.

Using the M32 and bus-only lanes developed as part of Metrobus, First’s network planners have been able to shave around 13 minutes off journey times for the T1 service into Bristol city centre during peak times.

This means that the morning journey from Thornbury town centre to Bristol city centre will take approximately 55 minutes, whereas in the off peak most journeys will take just 45 minutes, providing a considerably quicker journey than at present, and potentially faster than car users.

James Freeman, First West of England’s managing director said: “We believe people will like the new services to Thornbury, with its much improved frequency, and a much more attractive customer experience, and in case of the T1 a much faster journey time into Bristol.

"We were very pleased to be able to take a whopping 13 minutes out from the peak journeys into Bristol; that’s almost unheard of, but in large part that is exactly the type of benefit the Metrobus infrastructure can bring to a congested city like Bristol.”

Starting Sunday, May 27, service T1 will operate every 30 minutes, Monday to Saturday daytime, and every 60 minutes on Sundays and public holidays in the daytime.

Service T2 will operate every 60 minutes, Monday to Sunday from early until late.

The Sunday and public holiday evening frequency will be improved, with buses operating every 60 minutes, rather than every 120 minutes.

Considering the changes, passengers are advised to check the new T1 and T2 timetable carefully before travelling.