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As a result of the X5 now serving Claverham and Cleeve, the route will no longer travel through Smallway in Congresbury. However, the X5, X1, and A3 buses will continue to provide the wider Congresbury area access to public transport.
The service will still travel through Smallway signal junction as well as the Wood Hill/Bristol Road junction. The Wood Hill junction on the A370 will soon be undergoing improvements to make bus services faster and more reliable. Wood Hill junction improvements include a new signalised junction offering bus priority and improved traffic flows in the area, access onto the A370 from all movements, a new bus lane on the A370 Bristol bound and improved pedestrian and cyclist crossing points.
The X5 will also be rerouted in Clevedon via Kenn Road from 7 April to serve the new Pottery Retirement Village at the request of residents. This means the service no longer serves Southern Way, Old Church Road and Great Western Road. Southern Way and Old Church Road will continue to be served by the X6 and X7 services that both run every hour during the day giving residents two buses an hour.
In Portishead, the X5 will be rerouted via Wyndham Way in both directions meaning that it no longer travels through Harbour Road. This area is still served by the X4 bus service running every 20 mins as well as the X10 route that has newly been extended to run beyond Cribbs Causeway to Southmead Hospital. The service will also now start and end from Portishead Sainsbury's.
As part of North Somerset Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan, the service was also previously re-routed to stop near Yatton railway station. Increased coordination of public transport provides better opportunities for longer journeys by linking bus and rail travel in the area. The national £2 single bus fare cap for adults and £1 for children also continues until December 2024.
Cllr Hannah Young, Executive Member for Highways and Transport at North Somerset Council, said: “North Somerset Council is committed to working collaboratively with residents who understand their areas’ needs best. Having listened to residents of Claverham at last year’s Bus Forum in December, we’re delighted that the X5 bus service now connects Claverham to our wider region.”
Cllr Steve Bridger, local ward member for Yatton, said: “I'm delighted that with the support of the council the residents of Claverham will be re-connected to the bus network. I know how isolating many have found the last eighteen months without such a vital bus link.”
Bus network maps and detailed timetables for individual bus services are available to view online at travelwest.info. This will be updated shortly to show the April service changes.
Working in partnership to deliver Bus Service Improvement Plans, North Somerset Council and the West of England Combined Authority want to encourage everyone to ‘walk or wheel’ where possible, helping to reach a carbon neutral goal by 2030. When that’s not possible, bus travel is encouraged to be the first choice over car usage, helping to ease traffic congestion and creating a greener way to travel.
More information on the Bus Improvement Service Plan can be found on the council website: Bus service improvement plan | North Somerset Council (n-somerset.gov.uk)
