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 Alexander Dennis Enviro200 in Maesteg in 2014 | |
| Parent | FirstGroup |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Swansea |
| Service area | South West Wales |
| Service type | Bus & coach services |
| Depots | 6 |
| Fleet | 208 (April 2024) |
| Chief executive | Doug Claringbold |
| Website | firstbus.co.uk/cymru |
First Cymru [1] is an operator of bus services in South West Wales. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup with its headquarters in Swansea.
In 1987, South Wales Transport was sold during the privatisation of the National Bus Company in a management buy out. [2]
In February 1990, along with Brewers Motor Services and United Welsh Coaches, South Wales Transport was sold to Badgerline. [3] All initially retained their trading names but following Badgerline merging with GRT Group in April 1995 to form FirstBus, all Welsh operations were rebranded as First Cymru.
The company operates 98 bus services in the South West Wales area, in and between Haverfordwest, Pembroke, Tenby, Carmarthen, Ammanford, Llanelli, Swansea, Pontardawe, Neath, Port Talbot, Maesteg, Bridgend and Cardiff. Their network used to be larger and included destinations such as Brecon, Llandovery and Cardigan.
In addition to internal South Wales work, First Cymru also operate the TrawsCymru T1 service between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth under contract to the Welsh Government using Yutong electric vehicles owned by them.
First Cymru branding was previously used across the network. However, local 'Swansea and the Bay', 'Western Welsh', 'Neath Port Talbot' and 'Bridgend and County' branding is gradually being applied to services in its sub-areas.
First Cymru has provided bespoke services for students of Swansea University for a number of years. The original service, known as 'Bright Orange Bus' linked Hendrefoilan Student Village to Singleton Campus and the City Centre. The service was expanded to the Bay Campus when it opened in 2015 and renamed 'Campus to Campus'. A new route was also introduced between the two campuses via Sketty, Uplands and Swansea railway station. The network was redesigned and rebranded 'Unibws' following the closure of Hendrefoilan Student Village in the summer of 2023. Newly numbered services 90-94 link the two campuses with the city centre, Sketty, Uplands and new student accommodation in the Parc Tawe, railway station and Morfa Road areas, with service 91 operating 24-hours a day during term time.
First Cymru operates park & ride sites, which are located at Fabian Way and Landore in Swansea.
In 2014, First Cymru introduced the Cymru Clipper network of longer distance routes, spanning from Carmarthen & Ammanford to Cardiff.
Services X1, X2, [4] X3, X5, X6, X7, X11, X13, are encompassed into this network. Dedicated vehicles in blue livery operate these services, with the majority of them offering WiFi and leather seats as standard.
First Cymru operate a bus rapid transport route between Singleton Hospital, Swansea University, Swansea City Centre and Morriston Hospital as Swansea Metro. On 28 August 2015 the fleet of Wright StreetCar articulated buses that operated the service were replaced by Wright StreetLite buses and were rebranded to red metro branding. [5] [6]
First Cymru have held the contract for the T1 service between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth since 2014, when Arriva Buses Wales pulled out of Mid Wales. In 2023, First began operating Welsh Government owned Yutong electric vehicles on this service from a bespoke depot in Carmarthen.
In May 2021, First Cymru launched two new open top bus routes in Swansea and Porthcawl: [7]
[9]
A further two open-top coaster services were launched in June 2022:
In 2023 just one open top service ran in Tenby.
First Cymru used to have its own coaching division and operated school services, National Express contracts and interurban services. Special services were also operated to Abergavenny market and Oakwood Theme Park and Tenby in the summer.
First Cymru operated an hourly shuttle service between Cardiff, Bridgend Designer Outlet and Swansea, which was known as the 'Shuttle100'. From 2010-15, this service was part of the Greyhound UK network. [11] [12] Following the demise of Greyhound this service was renumbered X10. [13] The service was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not since been reinstated, marking the end of First Cymru's coaching operations.
In 2010, the Swansea-Cardiff shuttle service became part of the Greyhound UK network and was operated by coaches with leather seats and additional legroom, which could be booked online for the first time. In 2013, the service was extended to Newport, Bristol and Bristol Airport. In March 2015, the Cardiff to Bristol Airport leg of the route was withdrawn and in December 2015 the Greyhound UK brand was dropped. This was the last Greyhound service to operate in the UK. National Express launched its 216 service between Cardiff and Bristol Airport immediately after the withdrawal of the Greyhound service.
Until July 2012, when the contract was lost to Edwards Coaches, First Cymru were a National Express contractor and operated services on routes: [14]
As of April 2024, the First Cymru fleet consisted of 208 buses based from depots in Bridgend, Haverfordwest, Port Talbot, Tycroes, Carmarthen and Swansea.[ citation needed ] Depots were previously located in Llanelli, Pontardawe, Maesteg and Cardiff.
Swansea is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea.
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.
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, 20 miles (32 km) west of Cardiff and 20 miles (32 km) east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Ogmore. The River Ewenny also flows through the town. The population was 49,597 in 2021. Bridgend is within the Cardiff Capital Region which in 2019 had a population of approximately 1.54 million.
Bridgend railway station is a main line station serving the town of Bridgend, south Wales. It is located approximately halfway between Cardiff Central and Swansea stations, at the point where the Maesteg Line diverges from the South Wales Main Line; it is also the western terminus of the Vale of Glamorgan Line from Cardiff. It is 190 miles 45 chains (306.7 km) measured from the zero point at London Paddington, via Stroud.
The South Wales Main Line, originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. It diverges from the core London-Bristol line at Royal Wootton Bassett beyond Swindon, first calling at Bristol Parkway, after which the line continues through the Severn Tunnel into South Wales.
The West Wales lines are a group of railway lines from Swansea through Carmarthenshire to Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The main part runs from Swansea to Carmarthen and Whitland, where it becomes three branches to Fishguard, Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock.
Transport in Wales is heavily influenced by the country's geography. Wales is predominantly hilly or mountainous, and the main settlements lie on the coasts of north and south Wales, while mid Wales and west Wales are lightly populated. The main transport corridors are east–west routes, many continuing eastwards into England.
TrawsCambria was a network of medium and long-distance express bus routes in Wales sponsored by the Welsh Government.
Swansea City bus station is a bus station serving Swansea, Wales. It lies immediately to the west of the Quadrant Shopping Centre.
Sarn is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, about three miles north of Bridgend and which lies just east of the confluence of the Ogmore and Llynfi rivers. It is located to the east of Aberkenfig, south of Brynmenyn, and south-east of Tondu. It is around 15 minutes' walk from the M4 and the McArthurGlen Group Bridgend Designer Outlet.
In Wales, the office of Mayor or Lord Mayor had long been ceremonial posts, with little or no duties attached to it. Traditionally mayors have been elected by town, borough and city councils. Since 2000, councils can decide to have directly elected mayors with extensive powers if such a proposal is approved in a local referendum.
Bus transport in Cardiff, the capital and most populous city in Wales, forms the major part of the city's public transport network, which also includes an urban rail network, Waterbus and international airport. Cardiff is a major city of the United Kingdom and a centre of employment, retail, business, government, culture, media, sport and higher education.
Coming Home is a British television family history series on BBC Wales that aired from 2004 to 2015. The shows follow celebrities as they trace their Welsh heritage and roots.
Golf is a popular sport in Wales. Although the sport of golf in Great Britain is most associated with Scotland, where it was established and developed, Wales can record its first courses back to the 1880s, and today has over 200 clubs. The first amateur golf competition was held in 1895, and the first professional championship was in 1904. Wales has produced several players of note, including one player, Ian Woosnam, who has won one of the Men's major golf championships and Wales has twice won the men's World Cup, in 1987 and 2005, respectively. Wales also hosted the Ryder Cup, when it was held at Newport's Celtic Manor Resort in 2010.
TrawsCymru is the brand name for a network of regional bus services in Wales, sponsored by the Welsh Government. It was introduced as a replacement for the TrawsCambria network.
Adventure Travel is a bus and coach company in South Wales. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro.
Bus transport in Wales is a significant form of public transport in Wales. In 2021–22 52.3 million journeys were travelled in Wales on local buses.
Media related to First Cymru at Wikimedia Commons
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