Cardiff Bus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 80's.
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[edit] Operations
The current fleet is composed of 225 buses with new low floor buses being progressively introduced. Each weekday they carry around 80,000 passengers.
The operator is unusual in its use of 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 most stops, with the remaining stops due to be modified by the end of the year (2006). In May 2006 Cardiff Bus invested £4.5m in 19 new Scania (N94 Omni-City) 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".
[edit] History
While horse buses (and later horse trams) had run in the town since 1845, Cardiff Bus can trace its history back to 1902, when the borough council took over and electrified a tramline between Roath and the town 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 motorbuses, although the first motorbus 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 motorbuses. 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. So 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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- 26 September 2005 - 'History of Cardiff Bus' at cardiffbus.com. Accessed 5 October 2005.
[edit] External links
- Cardiff Bus website
- Cardiff Council website
- Welsh-Transport Heritage - A look back into the history and buses operated by Cardiff Corporation and other Welsh operators
| Bus transport in Wales | edit |
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Regional: Arriva Cymru | Shamrock Travel Group | Cardiff Bus | First Cymru | Islwyn Borough Transport | Stagecoach Wales | Newport Transport |
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National: Megabus | National Express | TrawsCambria |
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