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| Parent | ComfortDelGro |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Cardiff |
| Service area | South Wales |
| Service type | United Kingdom Bus & coach services |
| Routes | 30 |
| Destinations | Cardiff, Swansea, Gowerton |
| Depots | Cardiff, Swansea |
| Website | www |
Adventure Travel [1] (stylised as Adventuretravel; formerly NAT Group and New Adventure Travel) is a bus and coach company in South Wales. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro.
Established in 2008 with four buses, Adventure Travel has now grown to have over 100 buses and coaches in its fleet from May 2020 - with most buses being second-hand from London.
Adventure Travel purchased Humphrey's Coaches of Pontypridd in 2011, and has since purchased the businesses of VR Travel of Merthyr Tydfil in October 2013 [2] and Select Local Bus of Neath in 2015. [3] [4]
In February 2018 the business was purchased by ComfortDelGro. Adam Keen of Damory Coaches was appointed managing director of New Adventure Travel. [5]
It was confirmed in late 2019 that the business is being progressively rebranded to Adventure Travel, with the coaching side of the business being rebranded to Adventure Coachlines. [6]
In May 2020, Adventure Travel permanently ceased all operational work in mainland Europe due to COVID-19 pandemic, and is now focusing on its United Kingdom bus and coach services. [7]
Adventure Travel have won various routes in their operation, these include:
In May 2015 the company faced criticism for two adverts on the back of its route X1 buses which showed a scantily clad woman and man holding a placard saying "Ride me all day for £3". Adventure Travel said that the advertising campaign had been a "tongue-in-cheek" effort to target the younger generation and no offence had been intended, but that due to the volume of complaints, it would remove the adverts immediately. [14]
In March 2019, Adventure Travel was fined £17,550 for buses not running to registered timetables. The company also had 4 buses taken off the road due to them having defects. ComfortDelGro claimed this was due to staff shortages, and the company have since implemented new software with better monitors to make sure routes run the schedule. [15]
2019 saw residents of Thornhill, Cardiff rebel against Adventure Travel's X8 service. [16] The route has since been amended.
As of April 2024, Adventure Travel operated around 100 vehicles out of depots in Cardiff and Swansea. [17] The bus service fleet mainly consists of second-hand vehicles, either from London operators or their sister company, Metroline. The group also previously operated older vehicles like Alexander ALX400 and Plaxton President, but due to the fleet standardisation program they have all been retired.
Adventure Travel currently, as of April 2024, operate the following vehicles in their bus service fleet:
Adventure Travel's headquarters are at Coaster Place in Cardiff. However, the company also operate a depot at Swansea. The group have also previously operated depots at the following locations:
Since the purchase of Humphrey's Coaches in Pontypridd in 2011, AdventureTravel maintained a strong presence throughout the area establishing a network of local bus services to Ynysybwl, Glyncoch, Nantgarw, Treforest, Upper Boat, Trallwn as well as longer distance services to Bridgend and Porthcawl. After 13 years of providing bus services in Pontypridd, Adventure Travel closed the depot after a series of local authority tenders (in which the company experienced great losses) and is now used for storage for vehicles surplus to requirements.
Adventure Travel previously ran a number of commercial services [18] to compete with Newport Bus after Adventure Travel won their school services, enabling them to run bus routes off the back of them.
Subsequently, Adventure Travel withdrew from Newport and closed its Newport depot.
Following the purchase of Select Local Bus of Neath, Adventure Travel ran a number of ex-Select routes [19] and vehicles from this depot. Adventure Travel has since withdrew from the Neath area and has closed its depot.
Adventure Travel purchased the Abercrave depot when Crossgates Coaches ceased trading. The depot was used for storage but was sold and is now closed.
The Vale of Glamorgan, locally referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol Channel to the south. With an economy based largely on agriculture and chemicals, it is the southernmost unitary authority in Wales. Attractions include Barry Island Pleasure Park, the Barry Tourist Railway, Medieval wall paintings in St Cadoc's Church, Llancarfan, Porthkerry Park, St Donat's Castle, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Cosmeston Medieval Village. The largest town is Barry. Other towns include Penarth, Llantwit Major, and Cowbridge. There are many villages in the county borough.
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