15 March 2011 Last updated at 02:49 ET

Bristol to Weston 'showcase' bus route work completed

The buses, which will leave from At-Bristol, will travel to Weston-super-Mare

Work to create a "showcase" bus route, between Bristol and Weston-super-Mare, has been completed.

It is part of a £70m plan to create 10 routes to link Bristol city centre with outlying areas using more reliable bus services and extra bus lanes.

About five miles (8.6km) of the route will feature bus priority lanes while many bus stops have been improved.

Funding for the route came from the Department for Transport, four local authorities and First Bus.

The route begins outside At-Bristol and runs to Weston along the A370.

More reliable

Councillor Elfan Ap Rees, from North Somerset Council, said he hoped more people might use the service.

"This investment makes the buses more accessible and easier to use for a wide range of people and should encourage more people to give the buses a try."

Tony McNiff from First Bus said the route was the first step to creating "a better quality, more reliable and punctual network".

He added that the firm was already using newer buses on the completed parts of the showcase routes.

"We have invested £20m in a fleet of better buses to use on the showcase routes and these are already on the road delivering real benefits for bus users."

Other routes planned include a link from Bristol to Bath, from Bristol to Cribbs Causeway via Bradley Stoke and Bristol to Portishead.