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Start date set for second Metrobus route in Bristol

Travelwest A new MetrobusTravelwest
Initially estimated at £190m in 2015, the bill for the MetroBus network has risen to £230m

A start date has been announced for the second route in Bristol's £230m Metrobus scheme.

Passengers will be able to use the m2 route, which travels between the Long Ashton park-and-ride and Temple Meads railway station, from 3 September.

It was due to open in 2017 but delayed due to ticketing system issues, and it later emerged buses did not fit some guided sections of the route.

Remedial work to the 2.5km (1.5 mile) route cost about £200,000.

The guided sections allow buses to pass through narrow spaces "with complete accuracy every time".

However, in trials some of the vehicles were damaged because the size of the guide-way height "wasn't quite right".

Travelwest Bristol Metrobus m2 route mapTravelwest
The m2 route links Ashton Vale with Temple Meads and takes in Broadmead, Cabot Circus, Ashton Gate and some waterside attractions

The affected route had been earmarked as the first of the three Metrobus routes to open.

Instead it was the m3 service between Emersons Green and the city centre which started operation on 29 May, run by Bristol Community Transport (BCT).

The m1 route, from Hengrove to Cribbs Causeway, will begin operating in January 2019.

The prioritised bus routes have been billed as "the first buy-before-you-board service outside London" and link North Somerset, Bristol city centre and South Gloucestershire.