The 73 is a

bus route A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

that operates between Bristol Temple Meads railway station and

Cribbs Causeway Cribbs Causeway is both a road in South Gloucestershire, England, running north of the city of Bristol, and the adjacent area which is notable for its out-of-town shopping and leisure facilities. The retail and leisure complex takes its name fr ...

History

The former 74 bus route was merged with the 73 from 1 September 2013. The frequency of the combined route was a bus every 10 minutes during weekdays, every 15 minutes on Saturdays, and every 30 minutes on evenings and Sundays. From 31 August 2014, the service frequency was reduced from 10 minutes to 12 minutes. From 4 September 2016, the peak service frequency was reduced from 12 minutes to 15 minutes and the route was extended to Temple Meads railway station. In anticipation of a predicted drop in passenger numbers due to the introduction of MetroBus route M1 in January 2019, the route saw its frequency reduced to every 20 minutes. In July 2020, three

biomethane Renewable natural gas (RNG), also known as sustainable natural gas (SNG) or biomethane, is a biogas which has been upgraded to a quality similar to fossil natural gas and having a methane concentration of 90% or greater. By increasing the concentr ...

buses were introduced on the route. In January 2021, Monday-Friday services between Bristol Temple Meads and

Bristol Parkway railway station Bristol Parkway, on the South Wales Main Line, is in the Stoke Gifford area in the northern suburbs of the Bristol conurbation. It is from London Paddington. The station was opened in 1972 by British Rail, and was the first in a new generat ...

were withdrawn, resulting in a reduced frequency of 30 minutes in this section. From 30 January 2022, the route was shortened within

Bradley Stoke Bradley Stoke is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, situated northeast of Bristol,OS Explorer Map, Bristol and Bath, Keynsham & Marshfield. Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013). It is near the Severn Estuary of ...

by avoiding Baileys Court Road and Webbs Wood Road. It is proposed to withdraw the northern section between Bradley Stoke and Cribbs Causeway following the introduction of the MetroBus route M4 in January 2023.

Service

The service is operated by

First West of England First West of EnglandCompanies House extract company no 25088
...

. The route formerly had a peak-times express numbered X73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:73 Bristol-Cribbs Causeway Bus routes in England FirstGroup Transport in Bristol