Get on Board with First to watch Cricket
4 April 2014
New arrangements have been put in place to support the 2014 cricket season, which gets underway on 7 April, with Gloucestershire Cricket encouraging its spectators to use the bus when travelling to and from The Bristol County Ground.
The club is working with First West of England to raise the profile of local bus services and the ease with which people can travel to its matches by bus. In addition First is working with the club to provide Park and Ride services for the England v India One-Day International Match, which is being held on 25 August. On that day First will provide high frequency Park and Ride services from two sites (Portway Park and Ride and from the University of the West of England’s Frenchay Campus) to help cricket fans to get in and out of the city.
The Bristol County Ground on Nevil Road is easily accessible by bus: Services 17*, 70, 73, 75/76, 309/310 run within a five minute walk of the main entrance using stops on the nearby Gloucester Road (Services 73,75/76, 309/310), Muller Road (Service 17) and Ashley Down Road (Service 70). All buses operate at very regular intervals, with one – Service 75 – even running 24 hours a day. *Service 17 begins on 13 April.
Talking about the partnership between First and the club, Gloucestershire Cricket’s Chief Executive, Will Brown, says: “We're absolutely delighted to be partnering with First West of England for the 2014 season. Providing affordable, safe and reliable transport to the Bristol County Ground is massively important to the club and for our members, spectators and visitors. First’s standard routes, in addition to their hugely important park and ride service, is a great example of how two great brands can work together to improve community access to an iconic and popular sporting venue.”
Paul Matthews, Managing Director of First West of England, adds: “We are thrilled to be working with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club to promote sustainable ways of getting to and from their matches.
“As we see it, if you’re heading to the cricket this season then travelling by bus is the best option. Our services run within a few minutes’ walk of the ground, operate frequently and in the case of Service 75 run throughout the night. Travelling by bus also means you can avoid the hassle of parking yourself – an important consideration now that a number of residents’ parking schemes are in place. When you add these factors to the ability to sit back and relax, safe in the knowledge that if you wish to you can have a drink while you’re out, the bus adds up to be the best way of getting there and back.”
To help cricket fans plan their journeys to and from the matches, First West of England has created a special page on their website. Found at www.firstgroup.com/bristolcricket, it lists all the forthcoming fixtures while also offering information about the bus services running close by and the cost of travel.
For more information about First in the West of England or to view or download timetable information, log onto www.firstgroup.com/bristol.
First is also on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/FirstWestofEngland and Twitter, at www.twitter.com/FirstBSA.
There is also a handy First Bus app available to help people plan their journeys while on the move. Users can check live departure times based on the actual position of buses along specific routes, find local bus stops, bus route maps, service updates and ticket prices. It can be downloaded for free and is suitable for both Android and iPhone smartphones.
