TrawsCymru
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TrawsCymru is the brand name for a network of regional bus services in
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, sponsored by the
Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...
. It was introduced as a replacement for the
TrawsCambria TrawsCambria was a network of medium and long-distance express bus routes in Wales sponsored by the Welsh Government. Since 2012 services have been provided by the updated TrawsCymru network. History Coach Network TrawsCambria started in ...
network.


History


Launch plans

In 2010, the
Welsh Assembly The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...
ran a consultation on improvements to the existing
TrawsCambria TrawsCambria was a network of medium and long-distance express bus routes in Wales sponsored by the Welsh Government. Since 2012 services have been provided by the updated TrawsCymru network. History Coach Network TrawsCambria started in ...
network. In 2011, a programme of improvements for TrawsCambria services X40 (
Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...
- Pencader -
Lampeter Lampeter (; (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, after Aberystwyth and C ...
-
Aberaeron Aberaeron (), previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. Located on the coast between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, its resident population was 1,274 in the 2021 census. The name of the town i ...
-
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
) and 704/T4 ( Newtown -
Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...
/
Merthyr Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of Kin ...
) was announced. Under these plans services T4 & X40 and T4, and the network as a whole, were to be re-launched under the new TrawsCymru brand. Service X40 was to be re-numbered TC1 and T4 would have become TC4, along with extension south to
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
. During 2012, these two routes were to receive new
Optare Tempo The Optare Tempo is an integral low-floor bus, low-floor, heavy duty, full-size Rigid bus, rigid single-deck bus manufactured by Optare and was launched in late 2004. It is marketed and sold as the replacement for the Optare Excel. It is design ...
s equipped with coach style seating, greater luggage space, real time information and
WiFi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
.Tempo is the vehicle of choice for TrawsCymru
Optare 27 March 2012
The plans for re-numbering T4 were dropped, but the new vehicles and extension to Cardiff were introduced. The six additional WAG-funded Optare Tempos with leather seats, free WiFi and tables operate alongside the existing three Optare Tempos that had previously worked the T4 service. The X40 was originally scheduled to be replaced by TrawsCymru service T1/TC1 from 1 April 2012 under a contract until 31 March 2020 on offer. However it later emerged that
Arriva Buses Wales Arriva Buses Wales () is a bus operator providing services in northern Wales and Chester in northern England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. History Crosville Motor Services was formed in 1919 and operated services in Wales and northe ...
intended to stop operating the X40 service, along with its share of route 550, from 26 February. Instead Arriva introduced services branded Cymru Express on a fully commercial basis in place of the former TrawsCambria X40.


Change of plan

Because of the commercial CymruExpress, the TC1 TrawsCymru service could not be introduced. The six new buses that had been ordered to operate the TC1 were thus placed into store. These were longer than the new vehicles for the TC4, so were later taken out of storage and put to use on the T4 service, to increase capacity. They replaced three of the vehicles that had been ordered for the TC4, which joined the remaining three unused vehicles which had been intended for the TC1 in store. In August 2013, the Welsh Government launched an express bus service between Cardiff Central station and
Cardiff Airport Cardiff Airport () is an airport in Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan. It is the only airport offering commercial passenger services and cargo services in Wales. The airport is owned by the Welsh Government, operating it at arm's length as a commercia ...
. This was branded as a TrawsCymru route, given the number T9. Five of the six TrawsCymru buses were taken out of storage to operate this service, later being joined by the sixth. Arriva's CymruExpress services ceased on 21 December 2013, meaning a TrawsCymru service between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen was once again a possibility. Interim contracts to continue bus services on the route were let pending the introduction of a TrawsCymru service.


Review

In July 2013, it emerged that Welsh Transport Minister,
Edwina Hart Edwina Hart, MBE (born 26 April 1957) is a Welsh LabourAssem ...
, had commissioned a review of the TrawsCymru network. This was to be undertaken by Director of the Bevan Foundation, Dr Victoria Winckler. This outcome of this review was published by in February 2014, defining the purpose of TrawsCymru as a network of medium-to-long-distance (defined as 25 miles or more), strategically important bus services that connect key towns in Wales – complementing the rail network. The report's recommendations included: * TrawsCymru requires a strategic, all-Wales, approach. Currently, TrawsCymru contracts are let by four different local authorities and this approach was considered too fragmented. * That the implementation of any new corridors should be based on robust business plans which demonstrate demand and provide for a package of measures to improve the passenger journey. * TrawsCymru should complement the rail network and not seek to compete with rail services. Where justified by demand, it should provide good connections to onward rail services, but it should not be driven by or secondary to the rail network. * Service quality provision: ** TrawsCymru services should serve intermediate bus stops as well as main towns, but should avoid detours. ** The impact of intermediate stops/detours should increase the journey duration by no more than 50% longer than by car, and ideally less (around 33% being preferable). ** TrawsCymru should promote and accept CymruConnect (rail and bus combined) through-tickets, and action should be taken to improve the profile and performance of CymruConnect. ** TrawsCymru services need to address passenger facilities at bus stations and passenger information, which are part of responding to passenger needs. * Focus of effort in the short term should be on completing the rebrand of the five core TrawsCymru routes (T1 to T5) from TrawsCambria, rather than expansion of the TrawsCymru network to new routes * The TrawsCymru strategic board should focus on strategic issues with corridor delivery groups dealing with operational matters, on a formal basis. Both groups should have strengthened user representation.


2014 & 2015 launches

During 2014, the roll-out of the TrawsCymru brand to the other TrawsCambria corridors finally began. The first route to appear was the Carmarthen-Aberystwyth route, but the original plan for the service to become known as TC1 has been dropped. The TrawsCymru service was instead launched under the service number T1, in August 2014. Unlike the T4 and T9 TrawsCymru contracts, the operator provides vehicles for the T1, rather than using vehicles owned by the Welsh Government. It remains to be seen how the vehicles used will compare to the Welsh Government owned ones on the other routes. Invitations To Tender were also published for the remaining three TrawsCambria routes
X50 (
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
- Cardigan), T2 ( Bangor-
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
) and X94 (
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
-
Barmouth Barmouth (formal ; colloquially ) is a seaside town and community in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales; it lies on the estuary of the Afon Mawddach and Cardigan Bay. Located in the historic county of Merionethshire, the Welsh form of t ...
), to be known as T5, T2 and T3 respectively. The X94 became the T3 in November 2014, and the X50 the T5 in January 2015.GHA awarded TrawsCymru T3
''Bus & Coach Buyer'' 30 October 2014
Welsh Government funds new service
''Bus & Coach Buyer'' 8 January 2015
The T2 contract was expected to start in 2014, but due to last minute registrations of commercial workings by the incumbent operators ended up being let as a short term extension without TrawsCymru branding. In November 2015, the T2 was finally launched with branded buses in due course. Lloyds Coaches have ordered three
Optare MetroCity The Switch Metrocity (formerly known as the Optare MetroCity) is an integral midibus manufactured by Switch Mobility since 2013. Originally aimed at the London market, the Metrocity is based on the Optare Versa which was introduced in 2009. In ...
s with the first two due in January 2016 and the third due in March 2016.


Routes


T1, T1C & T1S

The T1 service commenced operating on 4 August 2014. An hourly service is provided Monday to Saturday with a few Sunday journeys. A late evening working also operates, between Aberystwyth and Lampeter. A single service number is used, but buses take two different routes between Pencader and Lampeter in order to serve intermediate villages every two hours (prior to the T1 launch, one village had an hourly bus service and the other nothing). The T1 is operated by
First Cymru First Cymru is an operator of bus services in South West Wales. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. With its headquarters previously in Swansea, it is now part of the First Wales and West region which also covers Bristol, Bath, Somerset, Bath and ...
using eight
Yutong E12 The Yutong E10, also sold as the longer Yutong E12, is a battery electric single-decker bus manufactured by Yutong in Zhengzhou since 2016 for both Chinese and international bus operators. The Yutong E10 debuted in China in 2016, transporting ...
battery electric bus A battery electric bus is an electric bus that is driven by an electric motor and obtains energy from on-board batteries. Many trolleybuses use batteries as an auxiliary or emergency power source. Battery electric buses offer the potential for z ...
es launched for the service in TrawsCymru livery in March 2023; many duties are subcontracted to Mid Wales Travel drivers. From August 2014 to July 2016 First used two
Alexander Dennis Enviro200 The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ...
s and three
Alexander Dennis Enviro300 The Alexander Dennis Enviro300 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro300) is a light-weight full-size single-decker bus that was built by Alexander Dennis and its predecessor TransBus International between 2001 and 2015. The design was the fi ...
s, and from July 2016 to March 2023 First used five Enviro300s as well as a
Wright Eclipse Urban The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body that was built by Wrightbus between 2000 and 2019. The second-generation Eclipse 2 was launched in 2008, followed by the third-generation Eclipse 3 in 2015. The Eclipse, and its sister desi ...
bodied
Volvo B7RLE The Volvo B7RLE is a low-entry single-deck bus chassis manufactured by Volvo. It was superseded by the Volvo B8RLE in 2013, with production of the B7RLE continuing until 2018. Specifications The Volvo B7RLE is similar to its predecessor, the ...
on the service. Journey time for the T1 is 2 hours 15 minutes. According to Dr Winckler's review, the journey time by car is 1 hour 25 minutes, meaning the bus service takes 58% longer than driving and hence misses the target set by the review. From 5 December 2016 to 14 April 2018, First Cymru operated the T1C service using the T1 fleet, which was then a once per day (except Sundays) extension of the T1 to Swansea and Cardiff, introduced as a replacement for the more frequent 701 service which had ceased operating in August 2016 when its final operator, Lewis Coaches, ceased trading. The full journey time of the combined T1 & T1C service when operated by First Cymru was 4 hours 35 minutes. From 16 April 2018,
NAT Group Adventure Travel (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. History Established in 2008 with four buses, Adventure Travel has now ...
took over operation of the T1C service. Though still once per day, the use of a separate Aberystwyth to Cardiff service by coach (in this case a
Mercedes-Benz Tourismo The Mercedes-Benz Tourismo (formerly designated as the Mercedes-Benz O 350) is an integral coach manufactured by Mercedes-Benz since 1994. It was initially introduced as the successor of low-cost variant presented in year 1992 ( O340) to the ...
bodied Mercedes-Benz OC 500 RF) and Sunday operation both resumed, neither of which had been seen since the 701. The T1C as operated by NAT Group takes advantage of being a separate service to the T1 by bypassing Lampeter, Llanybydder, and from Monday to Saturday, Swansea, taking an hour off the full journey time which is now 3 hours 35 minutes. The T1S service also commenced operation by First Cymru on 16 April 2018 using the T1 fleet. The T1S provides connections at Carmarthen for passengers travelling between Aberystwyth and Swansea on Monday to Saturday, has an approximate full journey time of 1 hour and additionally serves the
National Botanic Garden of Wales The National Botanic Garden of Wales () is a botanical garden located in Llanarthney in the River Tywi valley, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The garden is both a visitor attraction and a centre for botanical research and conservation, and features t ...
once per day in either direction.


T2

The T2 service is operated by
Lloyds Coaches Lloyds Coaches operates bus and coach services in mid Wales. It is a small family-run independent firm. The company is based at the old Crosville bus depot opposite Machynlleth railway station. It was established in 2001. History Lloyds Co ...
(formerly Lloyds Coaches and
Express Motors Express Motors was a bus and coach hire company based in Penygroes, Gwynedd. The company operated public bus services in the Caernarfon, Porthmadog, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Bangor and Llandudno areas, as well as long-distance TrawsCambria servi ...
until the latter's closure in January 2018) and runs twice a day from Bangor to
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
, with additional workings over part of the route on Mondays to Saturdays. This service was introduced towards the end of September 2012, when Arriva Buses Wales cancelled TrawsCambria service X32. The T2 would have been the second TrawsCymru service launched but its status as a TrawsCymru service was dubious for many years as although the operators referred to the service as TrawsCymru from the start they did not have any TrawsCymru branded vehicles for use on the service. Instead, they used buses in their own standard liveries. In March 2016, the service was upgraded with four TrawsCymru branded
Optare MetroCity The Switch Metrocity (formerly known as the Optare MetroCity) is an integral midibus manufactured by Switch Mobility since 2013. Originally aimed at the London market, the Metrocity is based on the Optare Versa which was introduced in 2009. In ...
s. In January 2018, one of those MetroCities, which was the one owned by Express Motors, was replaced by a brand new one owned by Lloyds Coaches. Since then, the original one was acquired and joined the fleet.


T3

The T3 service commenced operating on 2 November 2014. A more frequent Monday to Saturday service is provided compared to the previous TrawsCambria service X94 it replaces along with improved connections with the T2 service in Dolgellau.
GHA Coaches GHA Coaches was a bus and coach operator serving North East Wales, Cheshire, and Shropshire. It also operated bus services extending into Telford & Wrekin, Staffordshire, Gwynedd, and Merseyside. The operator ceased trading after entering adm ...
were awarded a seven-year contract to operate the service, initially with existing buses (one single deck Scania OmniCity of which was TrawsCymru liveried) before taking delivery of three
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400 (from which the Enviro400 was developed). In 201 ...
bodied Scania N230UDs and an
Alexander Dennis Enviro200 The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ...
, all fitted with Wi-Fi and leather seats in 2015. Journey time is 2 hours 30 minutes. Following the collapse of GHA Coaches in July 2016, the service was immediately taken over by Lloyds Coaches. Initially, Lloyds Coaches entirely used vehicles they already owned, before acquiring all three of the Scania-ADL Enviro400s, but not the OmniCity nor the ADL Enviro200, the latter of which went to NAT Group as one of the T6 vehicles, so a different Enviro200 was used in its place. As of July 2017 that Enviro200 has been replaced with two brand new Optare MetroCitys.


T4 & T14

The T4 was the first TrawsCymru service to be launched on 31 May 2011 and is operated by
Stagecoach South Wales Stagecoach South Wales is a bus operator providing services in South East Wales. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group. It is the largest operator of bus services in Wales. History In January 1991, Cheltenham-based Western Travel purch ...
, who also operated the previous TrawsCambria 704 (which operated between Newtown and
Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...
only).Future Timetable Information
Cyngor Sir Powys County Council
The service as launched was operated with nine
Optare Tempo The Optare Tempo is an integral low-floor bus, low-floor, heavy duty, full-size Rigid bus, rigid single-deck bus manufactured by Optare and was launched in late 2004. It is marketed and sold as the replacement for the Optare Excel. It is design ...
s, branded TrawsCymru, three of which had been ordered and used on the 704 and were repainted into TrawsCymru livery. The other six were new vehicles introduced to extend the service to Cardiff. The new vehicles were to an enhanced standard with a new design of seat and WiFi. The three aging former TrawsCambria Optare Tempos were finally retired in May to June 2017 after more than a decade of service, and replaced with three transferred two-year-old
Alexander Dennis Enviro300 The Alexander Dennis Enviro300 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro300) is a light-weight full-size single-decker bus that was built by Alexander Dennis and its predecessor TransBus International between 2001 and 2015. The design was the fi ...
bodied Scania K230UBs. The T14 service (Cardiff to Hereford via Merthyr Tydfil, Brecon and Hay-on-Wye) commenced operating on 2 September 2018. In July 2019, 12
MCV Evora The MCV Evora (stylised as ''eVoRa''; internal designation: MCV C113/C123/C133) is a single-decker bus bodywork produced by Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles (MCV) since 2018, as the successor to the MCV Evolution. The Evora is currently available ...
s were introduced for use on both the T4 and the T14 replacing the remaining Tempos and Enviro300s. The service is the longest end-to-end journey on the TrawsCymru network, with a journey time of 3 hours 50 minutes.


T5

The T5 was commenced on 5 January 2015. Roughly hourly departures are provided from
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
, Cardigan,
Fishguard Fishguard (, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,400 (rounded to the nearest 100) as of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Modern Fishguard consists of two parts, Lowe ...
and
Haverfordwest Haverfordwest ( , ; ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a Community (Wales), community consisting of 12,042 people, making it the secon ...
but the service is made up of a number of different routes, the most frequent being: * Aberystwyth -
New Quay New Quay () is a seaside town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales; it had a resident population of 1,045 at the 2021 census. Located south-west of Aberystwyth, on Cardigan Bay with a harbour and large sandy beaches, the town ...
- Cardigan - Fishguard - Mathry Road - Haverfordwest and * Aberystwyth - New Quay -
Aberporth Aberporth is a seaside village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the co ...
- Cardigan - Fishguard - Mathry Road - Haverfordwest (between Cardigan and Aberystwyth, this was formerly known as
TrawsCambria TrawsCambria was a network of medium and long-distance express bus routes in Wales sponsored by the Welsh Government. Since 2012 services have been provided by the updated TrawsCymru network. History Coach Network TrawsCambria started in ...
service 550) Additionally: * One trip in each direction does not travel via New Quay (the northbound service is a short working, starting from Cardigan) * Several short-workings between Haverfordwest and Cardigan/Newport do not travel via Mathry Road * Some journeys operate via
Goodwick Goodwick (; ) is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, immediately west of its twin town of Fishguard. Fishguard and Goodwick form a community that wraps around Fishguard Bay. As well as the two towns, it consists of Dyffryn, Stop-and-Call, H ...
and/or Trecwn Shortly before the service launched, the TrawsCymru website was updated to include the service, with the report: "The TrawsCymru T5 provides a regular and direct service along the scenic Cambrian Coast, linking Aberystwyth, Aberaeron, New Quay, Cardigan, Fishguard and Haverfordwest." This is inaccurate because not all journeys serve New Quay and the inclusion of Fishguard and (on some trips) New Quay and Aberporth means the service is by no means direct. The website also reported that the service operates 7 days per week, when in fact there are no services between 03:00 on Sundays and 05:45 on Mondays (effectively no Sunday service). By 8 January 2015, this latter error had been corrected to say that the service operates 6 days per week. The service was initially operated with existing buses, including four former TrawsCambria Optare Tempos, and four VDL SB200s (two with Wright Pulsar 2 bodies, one with an old-style Wright Pulsar body and one with an MCV Evolution body registered as YJ14CCV, which is a one-off, as it is an ex-demonstrator that only received orders on other chassis). All of these vehicles received TrawsCymru livery and seating, and in 2015 were joined by four new
Optare MetroCity The Switch Metrocity (formerly known as the Optare MetroCity) is an integral midibus manufactured by Switch Mobility since 2013. Originally aimed at the London market, the Metrocity is based on the Optare Versa which was introduced in 2009. In ...
s. While the Tempos remain on the service, the fact that they are ageing former TrawsCambria examples (same as the older T4 ones withdrawn in 2017) as opposed to the newer ones used on the T4 and T9, means that the MetroCitys and SB200s are somewhat prioritised. The new MCV Evora bodied Volvo B8RLEs received for the T11 have been known to operate the T5.


T6

The T6 was previously known as the services X63 & X64 and was renumbered and added to the TrawsCymru network in 2015. The service starts in
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
and runs via
Swansea University Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...
Bay Campus,
Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...
,
Aberdulais Falls The Aberdulais Falls are found on the River Dulais at Aberdulais, near Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The falls are formed as the river plunges over beds of hard Pennant Measures, Lower Pennant Sandstone just before meet ...
,
Ystradgynlais Ystradgynlais (; ) is a town in southwest Powys, Wales. It is located on the River Tawe, and was within the boundaries of the former county of Brecknockshire. The town has a high proportion of Welsh language-speakers. The community includes C ...
and
Abercrave Abercraf (also ; or Abercrave) is a village in Powys, Wales, in the community of Ystradgynlais and within the historic boundaries of the county of Brecknockshire. A distinct dialect of English is spoken in the village, as well as the Welsh lang ...
,
Dan Yr Ogof Dan yr Ogof (), at the National Showcaves Centre for Wales, is a long cave system in south Wales, about north of Ystradgynlais and southwest of Brecon, in the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is the main feature of a show cave complex, which i ...
Show Caves and then terminates in
Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...
. The T6 runs seven days a week, hourly Monday to Saturday with five journeys in each direction on Sundays and bank holidays. Since 2015, the service has been run by New Adventure Travel from
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
depot, using
Optare MetroCity The Switch Metrocity (formerly known as the Optare MetroCity) is an integral midibus manufactured by Switch Mobility since 2013. Originally aimed at the London market, the Metrocity is based on the Optare Versa which was introduced in 2009. In ...
and Alexander Dennis Enviro 200, being painted in TrawsCymru livery for the Service. In early 2021, the service was upgraded to newer
Optare MetroCity The Switch Metrocity (formerly known as the Optare MetroCity) is an integral midibus manufactured by Switch Mobility since 2013. Originally aimed at the London market, the Metrocity is based on the Optare Versa which was introduced in 2009. In ...
, painted in the New 2021 TrawsCymru livery for the T6 service. These buses were originally intended for use for T9 Service, but the service was suspended in 2020 due to Covid-19. This route takes 1 hour 49 minutes


T7

In April 2020,
Stagecoach West Stagecoach West is a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England, and Monmouthshire in the South-East of Wales. The company is a subsidia ...
announced it would cease to operate the ''Severn Express'' and X14 routes on 13 June. On 10 June 2020, NAT Group announced that it would continue the Severn Express route working in partnership with Monmouthshire County Council and TrawsCymru. The route was operated on a 6 month trial basis until 31 December 2020.
Newport Bus took over the route on 4 January 2021 and route was renumbered from X7 to T7. Newport Bus operated the route using two MCV Evoras previously operated by
Stagecoach South Wales Stagecoach South Wales is a bus operator providing services in South East Wales. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group. It is the largest operator of bus services in Wales. History In January 1991, Cheltenham-based Western Travel purch ...
on their T4/T14 TrawsCymru routes; these were replaced by two new
Yutong E12 The Yutong E10, also sold as the longer Yutong E12, is a battery electric single-decker bus manufactured by Yutong in Zhengzhou since 2016 for both Chinese and international bus operators. The Yutong E10 debuted in China in 2016, transporting ...
s in early 2023.


T9

The T9 service commenced operating on 1 August 2013. It was initially operated by
First Cymru First Cymru is an operator of bus services in South West Wales. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. With its headquarters previously in Swansea, it is now part of the First Wales and West region which also covers Bristol, Bath, Somerset, Bath and ...
and ran every 20 minutes, 7 days a week. Five
Optare Tempo The Optare Tempo is an integral low-floor bus, low-floor, heavy duty, full-size Rigid bus, rigid single-deck bus manufactured by Optare and was launched in late 2004. It is marketed and sold as the replacement for the Optare Excel. It is design ...
s are allocated to the service. The buses used were reported to be those ordered for the Carmarthen - Aberystwyth TC1 service. On 1 November 2014 New Adventure Travel took over operation of the route, which was reduced to a half-hourly. It was restored to a 20 minutes frequency in April 2015.T9 timetable
TrawsCymru 1 April 2015
At around 15 miles, the route falls some way short of the 25 mile minimum distance given in Dr Victoria Winckler's review of TrawsCymru (see sub-section of history section above). The journey time from Cardiff Airport to Cardiff Central is 40 minutes. Due to the circular route via
Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...
, the journey from Cardiff Central to the airport is only 30 minutes.


TrawsCymru Connect

A number of shorter services are designated as TrawsCymru ''Cyswllt'' (). These were initially not mentioned on the TrawsCymru website and the vehicles used did carry any special livery or branding, until late 2017 when Richards Bros' Optare Versa and their brand new Enviro200 received the ''Cyswllt'' livery. As of February 2018, First Cymru have had the ''Cyswllt'' livery applied to one of their Enviro200s. From 2019 the services now appear on TrawsCymru literature. The present routes include: *T8 (Corwen-Chester) *T11 (Fishguard-Haverfordwest) *T12 (Machynlleth-Newtown-Wrexham) *460 (Cardigan-Carmarthen) *X43 (Brecon-Abergavenny)


References


External links

*
TrawsCymru website
{{Bus companies in Wales, state=collapsed Bus transport brands Bus transport in Cardiff Bus transport in Wales 2011 establishments in Wales