Passengers have persuaded bus company First Bristol to drop plans to split routes in half.

The routes concerned run from Henbury and Cribbs Causeway to Bedminster, Bishopsworth, Hartcliffe and Withywood.

In late September the company announced it wanted to split the 75, 76 and 77 services in the city centre to improve punctuality on the routes, which run 16 miles across Bristol from north to south.

But the proposed changes led to more than 300 passengers contacting the company complaining about the loss of the cross-city link, which was due to come into effect from February next year.

First is spending more than £600,000 on the routes for extra buses and drivers in a bid to improve reliability.

But it has confirmed that buses will no longer stop in some roads.

These include Durban Road and Rodway Road in Patchway, which will be cut from the 75 route because of damage to parked cars.

The Asda supermarket in Cribbs Causeway will also no longer be served by the 75 – so people travelling there to or from Filton will have to change at the Cribbs Causeway bus station.

More than 300 people responded to First's consultation, including some who were worried they would no longer be able to travel across the city to places like Southmead Hospital, St Mary Redcliffe School and Bedminster.

From February 1 next year the 77 service will be merged with the 76, which is being extended from Southmead to Henbury with no loss of frequency.

On Saturdays every 75 service will run to Cribbs Causeway rather than terminating at the Royal Mail office in Filton, doubling the frequency to the out-of-town complex.

The 75A is being merged into the timetable of the 75 service, which will continue to serve the headquarters of Somerfield in Whitchurch.

Managing Director of First Bristol, Justin Davies, said: "We are grateful to everyone who took the time to give us their views.

"The main concern people had was that we find ways of making their services more reliable.

"I believe that by simplifying the routes, adding extra buses and putting more time in to let services catch up from delays, we can achieve real improvements without needing to split the routes.

"We know that some people will be disappointed by some of the route changes but we believe these will significantly help reduce delays.

"We are committed to running reliable services, which is demonstrated by our investment in putting extra buses on these routes," he told the Bristol Evening Post.