Wessex Red

Wessex Red (formerly Ulink) is the brand for bus services run under contract for the University of the West of England and the University of Bristol in Bristol by Wessex Connect. The services originally began in September 2007 for students and staff of UWE only. However since September 2008 the bus services have been opened up for the general public to use. Also, since September 2010, the services have been provided for students and staff at University of Bristol, by advertising 'transport for everyone' on the side of the branded buses.

The service has proved incredibly popular with students and staff at UWE, with demand increasing by over 100% after its first year in existence; passenger numbers at September 2008 were at around 6,000 per day.

Fleet
There are at least 28 buses which operate on Wessex Red's eight routes.
 * 7 Plaxton Centro Volvo B7RLEs (ex Diamond Bus)
 * 5 Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLEs
 * 4 Alexander Dennis ALX400s
 * 6 Scania OmniCity Single deck buses (five new September 2011)
 * 2 Scania OmniCity (one new September 2011)
 * 4 Wright Eclipse Gemini Volvo B9TLs

Since September 2011 5 former Red Diamond Bus Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLEs have been transferred to Wessex Red in order to operate regular duplicates in order to meet demand for services. The U4 & U1 services often being the worst for overcrowding at peaks times.

Other Wessex Connect buses occasionally substitute those listed above.

Routes
Wessex Red's current service is made up of eight routes, six of which start from/terminate at UWE's Frenchay Campus. The others are targeted at the University of Bristol's Woodland Road campus, and Bradley Stoke - City Centre commuters.

U1
Starting from Frenchay Campus, the U1 takes its route through Filton and Horfield along Filton Avenue, then through Bishopston along Gloucester Road. At the Haymarket, the U1 proceeds towards Cabot Circus and serves Bond Street and Wine Street. It then continues on to Temple Meads Station, and terminates at UWE's Bower Ashton campus. The route runs in both directions at a 30 minute frequency during the day during term-time on Monday to Friday until about 8pm. The whole journey from Frenchay to Bower Ashton usually takes just less than an hour.

U2
Starting from Frenchay Campus, the U2 follows the route of the U1 until the Haymarket roundabout at the end of the Gloucester Road where it proceeds into The Centre. The service runs in both directions at a half hourly frequency every day, with weekday journeys operating all year and weekend journeys operating during term time only. The U1/U2 combined provide 4 buses an hour between Frenchay Campus, Filton Avenue, Gloucester Road and the City Centre.

U3/U3A
The U3 runs every 20 minutes during the day all year round Mondays to Fridays between Frenchay Campus and Old Market via Glenside, St. Matthias, Fishponds and Stapleton Road. The service runs hourly between Frenchay Campus and Old Market via Glenside, St. Matthias and Fishponds on Saturdays and half-hourly on Sundays during term-time only.

In January 2012, a new variant of the service, U3A, was introduced to supplement U3 buses during weekdays. The route follows the same course as the U3 but terminates at Straits Parade in Fishponds, near to the St. Matthias campus.

U4
Express service which runs via the M32 directly linking the Centre of Bristol with Frenchay Campus, taking some of the pressure off all the other routes. In the morning and evening peaks, up to four buses an hour run, with the off-peak service being hourly. The service operates during term-time on Monday to Friday only.

U5
Starting from Frenchay Campus, the U5 mirrors the route of the U1 and U2 until Horfield, where it turns up Wessex Avenue and along Gloucester Road. It then proceeds through Henleaze and Clifton, before entering a loop at the Centre which proceeds via The Clifton Triangle, Park Street, The Centre, Bristol Royal Infirmary and back up to the Clifton Triangle. The service runs every 20 minutes during the day all year round Mondays to Fridays, with a service provision of every 45 minutes on Saturdays during term-time only.

U6
Starting from the University of Bristol accommodation in Stoke Bishop, the U6 largely follow Westbury Road and Whiteladies Road via Clifton Down Station down to the Woodland Road campus and Tyndall's Park. The U6 runs at a 15 minute frequency between Stoke Bishop and Tyndall's Park during term-time weekdays, with the frequency increasing to every 10 minutes in the morning with many services doubled up at that time and late-afternoon. On Saturdays and Sundays during term-time the U6 service between Stoke Bishop and the University of Bristol is extended to serve Temple Meads via Broadmead and The Centre and runs every 60 minutes.

U7/U7A
New service from 18 September 2011 linking UWE Frenchay with the MOD, Bristol Parkway station, Bradley Stoke, Aztec West, and Cribbs Causeway. During the week, U7A provides services between Frenchay and Aztec West in the morning and afternoon peaks, with U7 operating largely in the off-peak periods to Cribbs Causeway. Services run generally with a 30-60-30-60 pattern. On Saturdays and Sundays a service every 45 minutes runs between Frenchay Campus and Cribbs Causeway. All U7 journeys operate all year. The U7/U7A was intended as a part replacement for the 71/72 service in and around the Bradley Stoke area.

U8
New service from 18 September 2011 intended as a replacement for the 71/72 services provided by Wessex Connect for commuters to/from Bradley Stoke into the City Centre. The service operates all year round with southbound services in the peak hours only, and northbound services from the Centre in the evening rush hour.

Smartcards
After a successful trial, staff, students and the general public can now pay for tickets at a discounted rate or hold season tickets on a Wessex Red smartcard. Fares can be bought on-bus with a 16% discount on the card compared to the cash price with money which is pre-loaded on the card.

Because of its success, Wessex Connect have extended their smartcard coverage. The trial of smartcards proved propular, and as a result the Liberty Smartcard has been launched by Wessex Connect which "is designed to make travelling with Wessex Connect easier and cheaper - thus giving more freedom to travel".

Tickets available
The following are the tickets available to purchase or use on Wessex Red services.

Singles
These are fixed price for all journeys no matter what the length, and are competitive with other bus services. An adult single costs £2.00, and a child single costs £1.00. If purchased with cash pre-loaded on a smartcard, the adult single fare is reduced by 16% to £1.67.

Day Tickets
Return tickets are not available, so dayriders are purchased - these cost £3.00 for adults or £1.50 for children and give unlimited travel for one day on all Wessex Red U1-U8 routes. If purchased with cash pre-loaded on a smartcard, the adult dayrider is reduced by 16% to £2.50.

Monthly and Annual Passes
The general public can purchase a monthly pass for £42 and an annual pass for £420. Students and staff are able to buy:
 * Monthly passes for £39
 * Termly passes for £93
 * 3 Term pass for £274 for U.W.E students £249 for U.O.B students
 * Annual pass for £309

Recent Changes & Improvements
There were many changes/improvements to Wessex Red services from 4th September 2011, and further changes in January 2012:
 * U1/U2 - U1 to Bower Ashton increased to 3x per hour during the day for the autumn term with services running slightly later. During this time the U2 was reduced to once an hour, however since January 2012 this has been reverted so the U1 and U2 run every half an hour and still combine to provide 4 services an hour between Frenchay/Filton Avenue/Gloucester Road/Central Bristol. All U2 weekday journeys now run all year rather than just in term time, and the weekend service has also been enhanced to give an hourly frequency on Saturdays and Sundays; the weekend service runs in term time only, however.
 * U3 - Flyer Services between Frenchay and St. Matthias have been scrapped in lieu for a 20-minute weekday frequency between Frenchay, Glenside, St. Matthias, Fishponds, and Old Market. All weekday U3 journeys will now run all year rather than just in term time, providing good competition to First's buses that run down the Fishponds Road route into Old Market. Services run later into the evening on weekdays, and the weekend service has been enhanced; notably with buses every half an hour during most of the day on Sunday. Weekend services only run in UWE term-time. The U3A was also introduced in January 2012 to compliment the U3 service along the Fishponds Road corridor between Fishponds, Straits Parade and Old Market.
 * U4 - Minor changes to the timetable, with a lot more buses in the morning and afternoon peaks.
 * U5 - Increase in frequency to 3x per hour across the route, and all weekday journeys will run throughout the year rather than just in UWE term times. Saturday service has been retained with the timetable gaining a clockface 45-minute frequency compared to the sporadic service provided in the previous year.
 * U6 - No major changes to the weekday timetable, except the provision of 6 buses an hour between Stoke Bishop and UoB Woodland Road in the morning peaks, with the frequency being 4 buses per hour during the rest of the day, and then 2 buses an hour in the evenings. The U6 is extended to Temple Meads via The Centre on Saturdays and Sundays.
 * U7/U7A - New service from 18 September 2011 linking UWE Frenchay with the MOD, Bristol Parkway station, Bradley Stoke, Aztec West, and Cribbs Causeway. During the week, U7A provides services between Frenchay and Aztec West in the morning and afternoon peaks, with U7 operating largely in the off-peak periods to Cribbs Causeway. Services run generally with a 30-60-30-60 pattern. On Saturdays and Sundays a service every 45 minutes runs between Frenchay Campus and Cribbs Causeway. All U7 journeys operate all year. The U7/U7A is intended as a part replacement for the 71/72 service in and around the Bradley Stoke area.
 * U8 - New service from 18 September 2011 intended as a replacement for the 71/72 services provided by Wessex Connect for commuters to/from Bradley Stoke into the City Centre. The service operates all year round with southbound services in the peak hours only, and northbound services from the Centre in the evening rush hour.

In the summer of 2009 a route was considered to directly link Gloucester Road with UWE's St. Matthias and Glenside campuses. But, the plans were shelved due to the unpredictable nature of the traffic conditions along the three different corridors which the route would operate over.

History
Before 2007 - UWE had a 'UWE Flyer' shuttle service which ran between Frenchay Campus, Glenside Campus and St. Matthias Campus.

Sept 2007 - Five new Wright Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLEs were bought in to create the Ulink brand. Three routes were introduced; the U1 and U2 both took a journey to the Centre of Bristol from Frenchay Campus via Filton Avenue and Gloucester Road. While the U2 terminated in Broadmead, the U1 continued to Temple Meads Station and Bower Ashton. The U3 started at Frenchay Campus and served Glenside and St. Matthias Campuses before proceeding via Fishponds to Broadmead.

Jan 2008 - An increase in the frequency of U1 and U3 services to two buses an hour. U4 service introduced which took a direct route from Frenchay Campus into the Centre of Bristol via the M32.

June 2008 - First withdraw their X84 and 99 services which were popular among students, after "customer demand on these services had declined for some time". The X84 ran direct from Frenchay to the Centre via the M32, while the 99 ran via Clifton.

Sept 2008 - Ulink's service area broadened after they introduced a U5 route to replace First's popular route 99 which they withdrew in June 2008. The route follows the U1 and U2 along Filton Avenue, then turns up to Gloucester Road and navigates through Henleaze and Clifton before performing a circular route around town via Park Street and the Bristol Royal Infirmary.

Nov 2008 - An extra bus an hour was put on the U3 and the frequency of the U2 was quadrupled to twice an hour after it was found that 6,000 people a day used Ulink (over 100% increase on end of previous year). The increases in service were to combat the increasing overcrowding problem on the buses.

Jan 2009 - More weekend services were introduced on the U2 and U3 routes.

Sept 2009 - Rotala transferred 7 buses from Black Diamond (a subsidiary of Central Connect) in Birmingham into the Ulink fleet in Bristol to uphold the agreement in their contract with the University of the West of England so they could provide more services. The buses were given a new red/black Ulink livery before being put into service from September 2009. The frequency of the U3 was increased to four buses an hour between Frenchay and St. Matt's, and the U4 timetable also saw enhancements seeing two buses an hour in peak times. Over the summer Wessex Connect began integrating smartcards onto the service to make it easier for passengers to pay for and use bus passes.

April 2010 - Ulink bus services now appear on real-time information displays at bus stops and on the Acis Live website at http://www.nextbusbristol.co.uk, allowing passengers to track how long their bus will be until it arrives at their bus stop. The facility is provided by Acis.

September 2010 - U6 service launched linking UoB's Stoke Bishop accommodation with Whiteladies Road, Tyndall's Park and the Woodland Road campus. U6A service also launched complimenting the U6 but also being extended to UWE's Bower Ashton campus. Services run every 15 minutes combined during term time weekdays. U3 buses that continued to Broadmead are cut back to Old Market roundabout in an attempt to improve reliability, and the U2 frequency increased to 3x an hour between September and Christmas 2010.

June 2011 - Withdrawal of the U6A; It was announced on the Ulink website in March that the U6A (which was an extension of the U6 to UWE's Bower Ashton Campus) will be withdrawn after term finishes on the 17th June 2011 due to low passenger usage. The money saved from operating this route will instead be used to improve the U1 service which also serves UWE's Bower Ashton Campus.

Redbranding to Wessex Red
From 4 September 2011 Ulink was rebranded, and became Wessex Red. This was an attempt to get more of the public using the service, and to keep the services within the same naming convention as Wessex Connect's other services.