Getting here
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For the latest travel information, visit the TravelWest website – https://travelwest.info
Whatever your preferred method of transport, getting to Bristol Shopping Quarter is easy:
Walking & Cycling
Walking, cycling and using e-scooters to reach Bristol Shopping Quarter is a simple, stress free alternative to using public transport or the car. There are many cycle racks within the area and comprehensive information on cycling routes on the Better By Bike website. You’ll find a great walking map on the Visit Bristol website and information about hiring bikes on the You-Well website.
E-Scooters
TIER operates a fleet of e-scooters, e-bikes and e-cargo bikes in Bristol under the name WESTscoot.
Starting 29 August, all TIER vehicles in Bristol and Bath will only be available on the Dott app. This change follows the merger of TIER and Dott.
Users in the West of England will be redirected to the Dott app to continue using the shared electric vehicles from this date onward.
Buses
£2 single fares
Bus passengers in the West of England are benefitting from a single fare cap of £2 for adults and £1 for children on nearly all bus routes. The fares are part of a major package of changes designed to make bus fares simpler and cheaper, and to encourage more people to get back on the buses post-Covid.
This government scheme, which covers all of the West of England, will run until 31 December 2024.
There is also a discounted scheme, part of a joint initiative from the West of England Combined Authority, North Somerset Council and the bus operators, including First Bus, Stagecoach West and others, which will enable passengers in the BristolRider zone to benefit from fares capped at £2 until the end of March 2025.
Find out more on the Travel West website.
First Bus
More than 1,000 buses come into Bristol Shopping Quarter every day – making it the easiest way to travel. Use the First Group website to find timetables for your nearest bus service that travels into Bristol Shopping Quarter.
The First Bus App
The First Bus App is the smarter way to catch the bus. Simply download the First Bus App, and you’ll be able to buy and store tickets on your phone. You’ll never have to worry about losing your ticket or forgetting your change again. Just scan each mobile ticket when you hop on board, and you’re ready to go.
Running late? No problem! Using real-time information, the First Bus App also lets you know when your next bus is arriving, and available capacity; helping to prevent long waits at the bus stop.
To help you travel with confidence they have developed new functionality in their Mobile App. Before travelling you can use the space checker tool within the app to check out when your bus service is typically busiest so you can choose a quieter time to travel. You can also track your bus live on a map so you know exactly where it is and when it will get to your stop. What’s more, each bus now displays in real time if the wheelchair space is free and how many empty seats there are, to help you plan your journey.
Tap on, tap off
You can Tap On, Tap Off for adult fares across the West of England. Tap On, Tap Off is the easiest choice and gives the best value for adult customers currently buying a Single, 2-Trip, Day, or Week ticket.
Tap On, Tap Off uses contactless payments to cap adult bus fares so you’ll never pay more than the Day ticket fare for each day you travel in your chosen zone, no matter how many journeys you make. And the great news is, the more you travel across seven days (Monday to Sunday), the cheaper the days become! Tap On, Tap Off is the most convenient way to pay. There’s no need to ask the driver for a ticket; just tap when you get on and off the bus and make sure you tap the same contactless card or device each time.
First Bus accepts payments on VISA, Mastercard, Apple Pay (now with Express Mode) and Google Pay.
No more paper tickets! With Tap On, Tap Off, just tap and go – and remember to tap off when you leave the bus!
Metrobus
Metrobus is a new, modern public transport service for the greater Bristol area.
Metrobus offers faster, more frequent and more reliable services with direct routes to key destinations. It uses new, modern, environmentally-friendly vehicles with USB sockets and free Wi-Fi. The buses have an extra pair of doors to speed up getting on and off.
It’s a ‘buy before you board service’ with ticket machines at every stop, for quicker journeys.
The m1 metrobus service runs from Cribbs Causeway to Hengrove and Patchway, Aztec West, Bradley Stoke, Stoke Gifford, UWE*, Broadmead, the City Centre, Bedminster, Inns Court and Hengrove.
The m2 serves serves Long Ashton Park & Ride, Ashton Vale, Ashton Gate, Cumberland Basin, Spike Island, Redcliff Hill, Temple Meads, Cabot Circus and Broadmead.
The m3/m3x links Emersons Green, Lyde Green Park & Ride, Bristol & Bath Science Park, Emerald Park Industrial Estate, the University of the West of England (UWE), Cabot Circus and the City Centre.
The m4 links Cribbs Causeway to the city centre, via Little Stoke, Stoke Gifford, Bristol Parkway, UWE, Broadmead and the City Centre.
Stagecoach
Stagecoach run a number of services in and around Bristol, including route 9, which connects the city centre with both the Brislington and Portway Park and Ride car parks.
Transporabus/Stagecoach
From Monday 15 July, Transpora route 25 will be operated by Stagecoach
Route 25 operates Monday to Sunday, connecting Southmead Hospital to the city centre, via Horfield, Eastgate Centre, St Werburghs, St Pauls & Broadmead.
Route 90, which ran between Hengrove Park (hospital) and Broadmead, and service 23, which ran between Ashton Vale and Broadmead, will no longer operate.
Boat
Bristol Ferry run a daily water bus service – get off at Castle Park to visit Bristol Shopping Quarter. Further information, including the timetable and ticket prices, on their website.
Car
With excellent road links from the M5, M4 and M32, and over 10,000 parking spaces in central Bristol, travelling to the heart of the city by car is straightforward. Enter BS1 3DX into your Sat Nav and you’ll find us without a problem.
Visit Bristol City Council’s website for details of current transport plans and projects.
Visit the carwow or autotrader websites to find the nearest electric car charging points.
Rent a car from Enterprise, located in Cabot Circus’ coach park, or from Avis, who operate from Bristol Airport.
A Clean Air Zone is in place in Bristol, view the map of the zone and whether your vehicle will be charged on Bristol City Council’s website.
Park & Ride
Bristol’s Park & Ride services offer a comfortable, frequent and easy way to travel into Bristol without the stress of city centre driving. Remember it is free to park, you simply pay for your bus fare. Visit the Travelwest website for more details.
Car Parking
The Galleries
A safe and secure car park with convenient access to The Galleries shopping centre with 1000 parking spaces. The main entrance is via Newgate and Fairfax St. Family First spaces can be found on Level C and Disabled spaces are on Level D.
For prices and opening times visit The Galleries website.
Cabot Circus
The car park has over 2,500 car parking spaces available for customers, 24 hours 7 days a week. Parent and child parking spaces can be found on the ground, second, third and fourth floors. Disabled parking can be found on the ground and third floors. There are 12 charging points for electric cars situated on the ground floor.
Park for just £3 when you enter after 5pm and leave before 7am (plus £3 evening rate).
For other prices and opening times visit the Cabot Circus website.
NCP car parks
There are several NCP car parks within very close proximity to Bristol Shopping Quarter, including Nelson Street, Lower Broadmead, Rupert Street, and St James Barton. Each one has charging points for electric cars.
For prices, opening times and locations, please visit the NCP website.
Why not pre-book your space in the heart of Bristol’s shopping district, with great access to Broadmead and Cabot Circus plus all of the major hotels and attractions nearby. NCP Prebook Guarantees your space , and provides convenient, cost-effective parking day and night. https://www.ncp.co.uk/parking-solutions/cities/bristol
Premium Car Parks
Premium Car Parks offer hassle-free and convenient, low-cost parking at Cabot Circus.
- CCTV surveillance – car park covered by CCTV and foot patrols for your peace of mind
- Number plate recognition – automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) means that you can come and go without a ticket.
- Cashless payment – all parking is billed monthly in arrears.
- Cost effective – you are only charged for the days that you park. You may enter and exit as many times as you like for one single daily charge.
- £7.90 per day/£140 per month/£1,500 per year.
There is a minimum usage of four days parking per calendar month. You can park as often as you like. You are only charged for the days when you actually park. You can come and go as many times as you like within a day’s opening hours for one daily charge.
For further information and to join Premium Car Parks, click premiumcarparks.co.uk.
Give your parking charge to charity
Homeless charity Emmaus Bristol offers five parking spaces on Backfields Lane, BS2 8QJ through Just Park.
The spaces are just a few minutes walk from Cabot Circus, and everything the charity makes through parking fees goes to help people out of homelessness.
View the interactive parking map for more information on parking in Bristol City Centre.
Taxi
There are four taxi ranks in Bristol Shopping Quarter, one on Union Street (by the Odeon Cinema) two on The Horsefair, and one on Penn Street. Click travelwest.info/drive/bristol-taxis for further information about taxis in Bristol.
Train
Bristol Temple Meads is one of the most impressive and historically important rail stations in the UK. If you arrive by train it is a 15 minute walk or 5 minute bus or taxi ride into Bristol Shopping Quarter.
Coach
Bristol Bus and Coach Station is located on Marlborough Street, approximately 5 minutes from Bristol Shopping Quarter.
National Express operates many services in and out of Bristol, connecting the city with destinations around the country and runs regular services to and from Gatwick and Heathrow airports.
Megabus, connecting Bristol with towns and cities around the country, picks up and drops off on Bond Street.
You can reach up to 20 cities with FlixBus, their stops are located on Bond Street, outside the Hampton Hotel.
FlixBus is running the first ever electric long-distance coach route for England and Wales, linking London, Bristol, and Newport. Flixbus say the electric coach will save 352kg of carbon emissions per day driven on this route compared to the average diesel-fuelled coach, amounting to a reduction of more than 21 tonnes of CO2 over the course of the three-month pilot. Find tickets via www.flixbus.co.uk or the FlixBus app.
The city’s coach park is located at Bristol Fruit Market where there are marked spaces for up to 20 coaches but room for more if there is demand. The site has 24-hour security and facilities for drivers, including an on-site café and toilets available. There is also plenty of choice nearby with the city centre just a short distance away as well as the Paintworks development, Avonmeads Retail Park and other local attractions.
Drivers MUST book their coach parking in advance by telephoning 0117 9771655 or 07379 597856 (both 24 hours) for £12 for up to 24 hours parking. Bookings can be made up to a few minutes before arrival.
Please note the coach park is unsuitable for passenger pick-up or drop-off. For more details about Bristol’s Coach Parking facilities including drop-off and pick-up points, go to the TravelWest website travelwest.info/bus/bristol-coach-parking.
Routes to the Coach Park
Please be aware of low bridges in the area. Follow these routes:
From M32, junction 3 via St Phillips Causeway (A4320) and then south on Albert Road.
From City Centre via Bath Road (A4), turning left over the river at the traffic lights approximately 300 metres past Three Lamps Junction and then right onto Albert Road.
Bristol introduced a Clean Air Zone in November 2022 to reduce harmful emissions and improve air quality within the city centre. All vehicles can still enter the zone, but only older and more polluting vehicles are charged. More information on the Council’s website.
Air
When you arrive at Bristol International, make sure Bristol Shopping Quarter is your first destination – why not jump on the Bristol Flyer coach which goes directly to the bus and coach station – just 200 metres from the shopping area. Alternatively, you could rent a car from Avis.
Visitors arriving via Bristol Airport will find a wealth of useful information at https://www.bristol-airport-guide.co.uk/
For all up-to-date travel information, visit the TravelWest website.
