Free b

Free b
Bws am ddim

Slogan Ride free from a to b
Founded 2009
Headquarters Leckwith, Cardiff
(Cardiff Bus HQ)
Locale Cardiff
Service area Cardiff city centre
Cardiff civic centre
Service type Zero-Fare Bus
Hubs Cardiff central bus station
Operator Cardiff Bus
Website Free b website
Map of the bus route

Free b (Welsh: Bws am ddim Free bus) was a zero-fare shuttle bus that operated in Cardiff city centre, Wales. The route circled the edges of the city centre anti-clockwise. The service was operated by Cardiff Bus.

History

The service commenced on 12 October 2009[1] as a response to the creation of a "bus box" in Cardiff city centre. This was formed from the diversion of the terminus of many of Cardiff Bus's services from the Central Bus Station to stops around the edges of the city centre. The shuttle service was introduced to connect these stops, as well as those of Cardiff's four Park and Ride services.[2]

The three 28-seater buses in a yellow and black livery were introduced as part of a multi-million-pound joint council and Assembly Government-funded green initiative designed to encourage sustainable transport.[3]

Cardiff Council announced that because of low ridership, the Free b bus would be cancelled and replaced with an electric shuttle van.[4] Council-operated electric buggies were introduced in October 2010 in order to carry disabled and elderly passengers around the city centre.[5]

Operation

The Free b service followed a circular route that travels anti-clockwise around the city centre linking major bus and rail interchanges. The FreeB operated every 10 minutes until 20:00 on weekdays and until 18:00 on the weekend.[6]

Stops

Criticism

The service had been criticised as not running until late enough and a lack of publicity.[7]

See also

References

  1. Traveline-Cymru News
  2. News at VisitCardiff.com
  3. Article
  4. Guardian 12/5/10, "Free 'b' bus to be discontinued"
  5. Guardian Cardiff | New city centre electric buggies launch
  6. Timetable
  7. Article: "Prime-Minister Petitioned to Help Cardiff Buses"

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/21/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.