Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus (Welsh: Bws Caerdydd) is the dominant bus operator in the Welsh capital Cardiff and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. The company is wholly owned by Cardiff Council and is one of the few municipal bus companies to survive the effects of UK bus deregulation in the late 1980s.
History
While horse buses (and later horse trams) had run in the city since 1845, Cardiff Bus can trace its history back to 1902, when the borough council took over and electrified a tram line between Roath and the city centre. It had been previously run by the Cardiff Tramway Company. The resultant Cardiff Corporation Tramways spent the next 3 decades extending its electric tram network, and at its peak in 1927 ran 141 electric trams over 18 miles of line.
On Christmas Eve 1920, the corporation introduced its first motor buses, although the first motor bus route was operated by the Cardiff Tramway Company from 1907.
The first trolleybuses were introduced in 1942, their introduction having been delayed by the outbreak of World War II. The intention was to convert the remaining tramway system to trolleybus operation, then to extend the network. While the first stage was completed in 1950, the only extension made to the system was to Ely which took place in 1955. Although powers had been obtained to considerably expand the network, a policy U-turn occurred in 1961 when the decision was made to replace all the trolleybuses with motor buses. This task was completed in 1970, bringing to an end 68 years of electric traction on the streets of Cardiff.
The 1985 Transport Act deregulated bus services outside London and required all Local Authorities to establish private "arm's length" bus companies. In October 1986 the council established its own wholly owned company - 'Cardiff City Transport Services Limited', trading as 'Cardiff Bus'. In 1992, the closure of the National Welsh bus company led Cardiff Bus to extend and intensify its network in the areas and towns surrounding Cardiff, including Barry, the Vale of Glamorgan and Caerphilly. The Caerphilly local network of services including links between Cardiff, Caerphilly, Blackwood and Tredegar were discontinued in 2001 and are now provided by Stagecoach in South Wales and IBT.
Some loss-making services have been withdrawn and are operated under local authority tender by other companies, including Bebb Travel and the former Shamrock group, now owned by Bebb's proprietor Veolia. Several operate entirely within the City of Cardiff, while some in the Vale of Glamorgan are operated by ESTbus.
Operations
Each weekday Cardiff Bus carries around 100,000 passengers.
The operator has an 'Exact fare'/'No change given' policy. This has generated some criticism as its implementation often results in passengers paying more than the necessary fare. This can be due to not having the correct change or, more commonly, tourists and visitors being unaware of the policy until after they have deposited money. The reasoning behind the policy is that if the driver does not have to deal with giving change, passenger loading times are shortened, resulting in a faster and more reliable service. It also reduce the risk of attacks on drivers.
Real-time digital information displays are positioned at many stops around the city, informing people when the next bus is due and alerting waiting passengers of any delays. Raised kerbs have been installed at the majority of stops.
Controversy
Cardiff Bus's dominant position has sometimes come in for criticism and investigation. In 2004, 2Travel, a company operating significant numbers of school contract services in South Wales, launched low-cost services in Cardiff and Swansea to utilise its stock between the school runs. In both cases, the low fares were achieved by omitting the major bus stations, thereby avoiding hefty access fees. While the services were mostly ignored by FirstGroup in Swansea, Cardiff Bus launched a basic service in competition with 2Travel, using white buses bearing no livery (displaying only the operator address as required) and also stopping short of the bus station. The Office of Fair Trading eventually launched an investigation in 2007 into claims of "predatory behaviour" 18 months after 2Travel had ceased the service and gone into liquidation.[1][2]
Fleet
The current fleet is composed of 241 buses[3], the entire operational fleet will be comprised of low-floor buses after christmas 2007 when the N registration darts will be withdrawn - which are being kept in service due to extra buses being required for the christmas shopper's park and ride.
In May 2006, Cardiff Bus invested £4.5m in 19 new Scania OmniCity articulated bendy buses to provide much needed extra capacity on the busiest routes. Thirteen operate exclusively on the 17/18 Ely route, branded Capital City Red, and four buses operate on the Bay and City Centre link service known as baycar.
On Monday 8th October 2007, Cardiff Bus received 13 Scania N230UD/East Lancs Olympus and 15 Scania Omnicities which were due for delivery in August/September. These will replace the Leyland Lynxs, the Optare MetroRiders, Volvo Ailsa B55 and the N-registration Dennis Darts. Six Scania Omnicity buses will operate exclusively on the 27 route, branded Capital City Green, from the city centre to Llanishen and Thornhill[4]. However they are now operating the odd route here and there aruon the City, including Park + Ride scheme.
See also
References
- 26 September 2005 - 'History of Cardiff Bus' at cardiffbus.com. Accessed 5 October 2005