The double-deck bus has been transformed by the Bristolian legendary street artist Cheo as part of the partnership between UPFEST PRESENTS and First Bus.
The bus comes into service on May 13 and aims to spread the joy of the colourful UPFEST to the northern part of the city as it takes the route from the city centre to Yate and Thornbury.
The bus might also go on a summer tour and be used in the Western-Super-Mare service or the 376 service to Wells. Up First will continue to remain in service indefinitely, leaving a legacy beyond the event’s 17-day culture programme.
BristolWorld had the opportunity to hop onto the new Up First bus ahead of its launch and enjoy a bus ride around the colourful Bedminster.
We also chatted with Stephen Hayles, co-founder of Upfest, and Sarah Wallbridge, Senior Marketing Manager for First Bus Wales and West, about the design.
The bus comes into service on May 13 and aims to spread the joy of the colourful UPFEST to the northern part of the city as it takes the route from the city centre to Yate and Thornbury.
The bus might also go on a summer tour and be used in the Western-Super-Mare service or the 376 service to Wells. Up First will continue to remain in service indefinitely, leaving a legacy beyond the event’s 17-day culture programme.
BristolWorld had the opportunity to hop onto the new Up First bus ahead of its launch and enjoy a bus ride around the colourful Bedminster.
We also chatted with Stephen Hayles, co-founder of Upfest, and Sarah Wallbridge, Senior Marketing Manager for First Bus Wales and West, about the design.
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TravelTranscript
00:00So Tio has been a Bristol staple. You'll recognise his work from his signature beat. He's been
00:14painting the streets of Bristol for the last 30 years. He was one of the early graffiti
00:20artists in the city and he's known for creating these joyful, colourful characters. His scale
00:27is actually taking any object and turning it into a character. But yeah, his work's
00:32amazing and you can find him online.
00:38Tio's done it all freehand. It was just phenomenal watching him work and it has exceeded all
00:45my expectations. The design really incorporates everything we wanted to and more. It covers
00:53the city, so it's got some city icons of the Suspension Bridge, the Blue Fiesta, it's
00:59got some of the country areas, so we've got the apple trees, we've got some of the fun
01:05animals that you kind of perhaps see in some of our farms around the West Country area
01:11and then we've got the coast. So we've got Weston-super-Mare on the back and it just,
01:17every time I look at it I find something that just amazes me and think, wow, I love that.