Changes to bus services across Bath will come into force this weekend in a move transport giant First says will improve reliability and punctuality.

From Sunday a number of services in the city will be subject to minor timetable and route changes which the operator hopes will reflect the needs of passengers.

The number 4, which runs between Bathampton and the city centre, will follow a new route in the centre from Sunday.

The service will now travel between Manvers Street and North Parade via Pierrepont Street, High Street, Bridge Street, Grand Parade, Pierrepont Street before continuing on to Bathampton.

This change is being made to give people coming into Bath on Service 1 from Combe Down, which later becomes the number 4, better access to the city centre.

Passengers with valid through tickets, who boarded the bus in Combe Down, will now be able to remain on the vehicle and travel beyond the bus station until Service 4 reaches the main shopping areas.

The service 8 from Kingsway to the University of Bath will also be re-routed to take account of the likely pedestrianisation of Pulteney Bridge.

Later in the year, all service 8 buses will be re-routed between Manvers Street and Bathwick Hill, but from Sunday, they will go via High Street, Bridge Street, Grand Parade, North Parade, North Parade Road and Pulteney Road.

The 418/419 service, which serves the University of Bath and Bath Spa University, will also be re-routed as well as renamed.

From Sunday Bath Spa University will be served by two dedicated bus services to be known as SPA1 and SPA2, replacing the 418 and 419 services.

Both buses will operate between Grand Parade and both universities, with SPA1 taking a longer route around Brougham Hayes, Lower Oldfield Park and Newbridge Road, and SPA2 going on a more direct route via Lower Bristol Road to the university campus.

Tony McNiff, managing director of First Bristol, Somerset and Avon said the changes were part of a continual review to ensure the firm was providing bus services people used.

He said: "We are constantly reviewing our networks to ensure they best reflect the ways people are actually travelling.

"The changes being made in Bath this month will improve the punctuality and reliability of services, while improving connections for some local people, particularly those people in Combe Down who have asked us to make changes to allow them to access Bath city centre with greater ease.

"Some additional changes are being made in advance of the expected closure of Pulteney Bridge to all traffic from the autumn."

However, residents in Larkhall and Fairfield Park are still fighting to upgrade their 6/7 circular route to a 30-minute service linking the two communities.

In May the circular service was split into two separate routes, then after pressure from a campaign group which fought to oppose the change, operator First restored the circular arrangement.

But the firm reduced the frequency of the buses to every 40-minutes, compared to the original 20-minute service, which residents say is not sufficient.

Mr McNiff said the firm would struggle to make a 30-minute service viable which was the reason for splitting the route in the first place.

He said: "It is difficult to see where we would get the money to fund a 30-minute service from.

"There are ongoing discussions about the service but there are some quite difficult issues."

For more information about changes to bus services, visit www. firstgroup.com/bath.