Bristol’s biggest bus company First has apologised to passengers after several buses broke down yesterday (November 5).
A number of buses on the 75 and 76 routes made it out of the Hengrove depot in south Bristol, but broke down by mid-morning, and Bristol Live understands more than half a dozen more were broken down and couldn’t be used.
The buses were old and out-of-use vehicles brought out of depots from around the country in September and October, after the knock-on effects of the hit First West of England in Bristol.
Richard Northey, First West of England’s engineering director, apologised to passengers who were either left waiting for buses, or on buses that broke down.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused by the breakdown of several buses on the 75/76 route yesterday morning,” he said.
“All stationary vehicles were removed from the route by 9.30 and our engineers worked hard to fix any problems,” he added.
First’s bus woes began when they switched the 24 bus from a single decker to a double decker service, and shuffled their fleet to use double decker buses from the 75 and 76 routes, which serve a major north-south cross-city route from the Hengrove depot.
First’s Bristol bosses had been promised nearly-new double deckers from another First company in the north of England, which had ordered brand new buses from Wright Bus, the major bus factory in Northern Ireland.
But Wright Bus went out of business suddenly in the early autumn, and the new buses didn’t arrive - which meant First in Bristol didn’t get their buses either.
First bosses in Bristol then be sourced, and worked round the clock to get them roadworthy and useable.
That was a temporary fix, which Mr Northey said would soon get better.
“We’re currently working through a transition period with our manufacturing suppliers, following the recent period of administration of bus manufacturer company Wrightbus.
“Incidentally, we note with pleasure that the company has been rescued out of administration and is reopening.
“We’ve hired additional buses to help alleviate the impact of any breakdowns during this time.
“These extra buses have taken some time to mobilise but will be ready to use across services in the next few days. We’d like to thank customers for their patience whilst we work to get the vehicles up and running as soon as possible,” he added.
For the latest news in and around Bristol, visit and bookmark Bristol Live's homepage .
