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First Cymru

traveller1

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2 Oct 2010
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I run a bus users group. Over the past fortnight but especially in the last few days, a great number of our buses in the Bridgend area have been cancelled, specifically the 74 buses. What enforcement action can the Traffic Commissioner take? 26.5% of journeys were cancelled yesterday. Not as bad today thankfully!
 
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Cesarcollie

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5 Jun 2016
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I run a bus users group. Over the past fortnight but especially in the last few days, a great number of our buses in the Bridgend area have been cancelled, specifically the 74 buses. What enforcement action can the Traffic Commissioner take? 26.5% of journeys were cancelled yesterday. Not as bad today thankfully!

The TC has quite wide ranging powers but will not generally be interested in a couple of weeks, especially since the bus industry like many others is being affected by shielding, isolating and now the ‘pingdemic’. With many staff having to isolate at random and without warning, it is very difficult for any company, however good, to guarantee a full reliable service. What would you expect them to do?
 

traveller1

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2 Oct 2010
Messages
50
The TC has quite wide ranging powers but will not generally be interested in a couple of weeks, especially since the bus industry like many others is being affected by shielding, isolating and now the ‘pingdemic’. With many staff having to isolate at random and without warning, it is very difficult for any company, however good, to guarantee a full reliable service. What would you expect them to do?
I'd expect them to take my complaint seriously and investigate and come to an independent outcome. Surely it's their role?
 

Dai Corner

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20 Jul 2015
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6,316
Here are the contact details for the Traffic Commissioner for Wales. Please let us know how you get on if you contact her.

Swyddfeydd Penrallt Offices
Ffordd Pafiliwn
Caernarfon
Gwynedd
LL55 1BN

United Kingdom
Email
[email protected]
phone
0300 123 9000
 

traveller1

Member
Joined
2 Oct 2010
Messages
50
Here are the contact details for the Traffic Commissioner for Wales. Please let us know how you get on if you contact her.

Swyddfeydd Penrallt Offices
Ffordd Pafiliwn
Caernarfon
Gwynedd
LL55 1BN

United Kingdom
Email
[email protected]
phone
0300 123 9000
I have contacted but I am told that I will not receive any feedback.
 

Cesarcollie

Member
Joined
5 Jun 2016
Messages
524
I have contacted but I am told that I will not receive any feedback.

I would suggest in the first instance, if you haven’t done so, it would be worth contacting the company with your concerns. Naturally you will need to provide specific details/times.
 

cpb

New Member
Joined
21 Jul 2013
Messages
4
Location
Llanelli
There has been a nasty accident with one of the open toppers at Mumbles - thankfully no-one was seriously hurt, although one poor boy was airlifted to Cardiff.

https://swanseabaynews.com/2021/08/10/a-number-of-injuries-in-open-top-bus-accident-at-mumbles/

South Wales Police are reporting that there are a ‘number of injuries’ following an incident involving an open top double decker bus at Mumbles.​

Thankfully, none of those injuries are reported to be life-threatening or life-changing.

Images of the bus, which appears to have struck a tree, show the front portion of the upper deck to have ripped off.

The cabriolet-style bus had a fixed front section of the top deck roof with the rear open to the elements.

The ‘Cymru Coaster’ branded bus, operated by First launched at the end of May taking tourists from the city centre bus station through the marina and onto Bracelet Bay at Mumbles.

Mumbles Road is currently closed, and Police are advising motorists to avoid the area.

A First Cymru spokesman said: “We can confirm one of our vehicles operating the Swansea to Mumbles service was involved in a collision earlier this afternoon.

“Following the incident the operator immediately implemented its emergency procedures and sent representatives to the scene to provide support to those involved and the emergency services.

“We will work closely with the emergency services as part of our investigation.”
 
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tjwpsv

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Joined
20 Jul 2014
Messages
32
Yes, good news indeed that the injuries were not serious.

Presumably the 1 is currently working with a conventional bus alongside 32012, or has a replacement been borrowed from elsewhere in the group?
 

Bristol LH

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6 Aug 2017
Messages
73
Yes, good news indeed that the injuries were not serious.

Presumably the 1 is currently working with a conventional bus alongside 32012, or has a replacement been borrowed from elsewhere in the group?
32002's working has been replaced by a standard Wright Gemini-bodied Volvo B7TL or B9TL. However, for the last few weeks of the season, the service is being reduced to a one bus working, i.e. just 32012.
 

cpb

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Joined
21 Jul 2013
Messages
4
Location
Llanelli
The ongoing driver shortage is having an effect on First Cymru's services, with a number getting frequency cuts and some routes being handed over to other local operators (Morris Travel in Carmarthen and South Wales Transport in Swansea)


Bus company First Cymru has announced some major changes to their network, reducing the frequency of services and outsourcing some routes to other operators due to an ongoing shortage of drivers.​

A spokesperson told the BBC that despite double the number of drivers it usually recruited, a backlog in applications by the DVLA and the effects of the pandemic meant that it was taking months for licences to come through.

The shortage was due to drivers having to self-isolate, an increase in staff absence and drivers leaving the company to take up HGV jobs elsewhere as the nation-wide HGV driver shortage continues.

A spokesperson for First Cymru said: “We have been actively recruiting staff and doubled our training activity to increase the volume of recruits.”

“We have a strong pipeline but we have experienced considerable delays with licence applications at DVLA and this has had a considerable impact on us.

“PCV [passenger-carrying vehicle] driver shortages are both industry-wide and UK-wide, and as a result we are unable to loan drivers from our colleagues across the UK.”


All the changes to First Cymru Services

From Monday 13 September

Carmarthen services 205, 206 and 215 will no longer be operated by First Cymru. Services will instead be run by local Carmarthen operator, Morris Travel.

From Sunday 19 September

Swansea service 15 to Waunarlwydd and service 30 to Trallwn will no longer be operated by First Cymru. These will be instead run by Neath-based local operator, South Wales Transport.

The X10 express service from Swansea to Cardiff will be suspended. First say that patronage on this service was low and passengers should make journeys on other services or by train.

Service 28 to Penplas and Penlan used to run one service an hour to Penplas, and two per hour to Penlan roundabout. This will be reduced to two buses per hour, although both services will run as far as Penplas. A larger bus will also be allocated to the route to ensure capacity is able to meet demand.

Service 6 to Port Tenant will be reduced from half-hourly to hourly.

Service 4 from Morriston Hospital to the City Centre and Singleton will be reduced to run every 15 minutes from its previous 12 minute frequency.

University service 8 and 10 will not see their usual 24 hour running during University term-time, with services finishing around midnight instead on service 8 and 10pm on service 10.

Swansea to Llanelli services 110 and 111 will see their timetables reduced to every 20 minutes, similar to the current Saturday service.

In Port Talbot, service 81 and 82 will be reduced to operate hourly instead of their current half-hourly frequency.

Service 87 between Neath and Margam will now operate every 30 minutes instead of its current 20 minute frequency.

Bridgend to Porthcawl service 63 will be reduced from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes.

Bridgend services 64 and 65 will now be every 2 hours instead of their usual hourly frequency.

From Sunday 26 September

Swansea to Uplands service 19 and Swansea to Three Crosses service 22 will no longer be operated by First Cymru, with Neath-based local operator South Wales Transport running these routes instead.
 
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TheGrandWazoo

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The ongoing driver shortage is having an effect on First Cymru's services, with a number getting frequency cuts and some routes being handed over to other local operators (Morris Travel in Carmarthen and South Wales Transport in Swansea)

Sound like permanent moves rather than temporary but perhaps I'm reading too much into that
 

extendedpaul

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Caerphilly and Kent
Will be sad but not surprised to lose the X10 service. It's already a shadow of what it was . I've been an occasional user since it was first introduced as a Greyhound service about 10 years ago with tickets bookable in advance from £1.

Most passengers now seem to be concessionary pass holders.
 

M803UYA

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Under my stone....
Will be sad but not surprised to lose the X10 service. It's already a shadow of what it was . I've been an occasional user since it was first introduced as a Greyhound service about 10 years ago with tickets bookable in advance from £1.

Most passengers now seem to be concessionary pass holders.
It goes back much longer than that - prior to being a Greyhound service it was branded as the Shuttle '100' using former National Express coaches. During the 1990s it extended to Bristol and Bath with journeys starting in Tenby, using a fleet of Duple 425's. Later on (2003) it reverted to Swansea-Cardiff using Dennis Javelin coaches off National Express work.
Around 2005 it got a fleet of new Volvo B7R Plaxtons - which were great at encouraging people to use the railway instead.
Most of those Volvo's were shipped off elsewhere in First at two years old.
 

carlberry

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19 Dec 2014
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3,169
It goes back much longer than that - prior to being a Greyhound service it was branded as the Shuttle '100' using former National Express coaches. During the 1990s it extended to Bristol and Bath with journeys starting in Tenby, using a fleet of Duple 425's. Later on (2003) it reverted to Swansea-Cardiff using Dennis Javelin coaches off National Express work.
Around 2005 it got a fleet of new Volvo B7R Plaxtons - which were great at encouraging people to use the railway instead.
Most of those Volvo's were shipped off elsewhere in First at two years old.
Even earlier than that! It was a core part of Expresswest when it was running during the 1980s which had been formed from the previous Swansea-Cardiff express service that South Wales Transport ran which could trace a heritage to the (pre motorway) services that Neath and Cardiff coaches ('The Brown Bombers') ran.
 

Dai Corner

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6,316
It goes back much longer than that - prior to being a Greyhound service it was branded as the Shuttle '100' using former National Express coaches. During the 1990s it extended to Bristol and Bath with journeys starting in Tenby, using a fleet of Duple 425's. Later on (2003) it reverted to Swansea-Cardiff using Dennis Javelin coaches off National Express work.
Around 2005 it got a fleet of new Volvo B7R Plaxtons - which were great at encouraging people to use the railway instead.
Most of those Volvo's were shipped off elsewhere in First at two years old.
The railway off-peak day return Swansea-Cardiff is actually cheaper than the X10. Trains are also quicker and more frequent so there's little point in the service except for impecunious concessionary passholders.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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It goes back much longer than that - prior to being a Greyhound service it was branded as the Shuttle '100' using former National Express coaches. During the 1990s it extended to Bristol and Bath with journeys starting in Tenby, using a fleet of Duple 425's. Later on (2003) it reverted to Swansea-Cardiff using Dennis Javelin coaches off National Express work.
Around 2005 it got a fleet of new Volvo B7R Plaxtons - which were great at encouraging people to use the railway instead.
Most of those Volvo's were shipped off elsewhere in First at two years old.
A number of those B7Rs are now with Truronian having done spells in Scotland in the main though one did actually return for a second stint. However, at one time in the mid 1990s (Badgerline Group days), it gained a couple of long-wheelbase Olympian coaches, IIRC
Even earlier than that! It was a core part of Expresswest when it was running during the 1980s which had been formed from the previous Swansea-Cardiff express service that South Wales Transport ran which could trace a heritage to the (pre motorway) services that Neath and Cardiff coaches ('The Brown Bombers') ran.
Indeed it was ExpressWest - think mainly split between SWT and National Welsh though doubtless with a bit of Bristol Omnibus thrown in?
The railway off-peak day return Swansea-Cardiff is actually cheaper than the X10. Trains are also quicker and more frequent so there's little point in the service except for impecunious concessionary passholders.
Trains are quicker but the X10 always managed to survive because of the sub-optimal location of Swansea station, the peak time projections for the suburbs, and a few stops en route to provide links the train couldn't give.

I note the phrasing is that the service is suspended (rather than withdrawn) so it may be temporary but if it is permanent, a loss of peak hour commuter traffic is perhaps the kicker. It may be a service whose lifecycle is at an end, compounded by insufficient pass remuneration and increasing traffic congestion over the years, though it really has suffered with poor marketing, lack of investment etc.
 

carlberry

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Indeed it was ExpressWest - think mainly split between SWT and National Welsh though doubtless with a bit of Bristol Omnibus thrown in?
Yes, plus some Crosville from time to time! Until 1980 it was the 252 service between Cardiff and Llanelli, limited stop via A roads and basically what Neath and Cardiff had run. After coach dereg in 1980 they introduced the X1 via the motorway then, 40 years ago, they joined it with Swanses-Haverfordwest and Cardiff-Bristol services to become Expresswest.
 

iantherev

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Brecon Beacons
Yes, plus some Crosville from time to time! Until 1980 it was the 252 service between Cardiff and Llanelli, limited stop via A roads and basically what Neath and Cardiff had run. After coach dereg in 1980 they introduced the X1 via the motorway then, 40 years ago, they joined it with Swanses-Haverfordwest and Cardiff-Bristol services to become Expresswest.
The X52 was the motorway service extended every two hours to Carmarthen. The X1 was the original service cut back to Swansea.
 

carlberry

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The X52 was the motorway service extended every two hours to Carmarthen. The X1 was the original service cut back to Swansea.
It knew I'd get them the wrong way around! My logic was the X52 must be the old 252, wrong!
 

iantherev

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I’m a bit confused but it’s probably me. Was the X52 ever used for the service from Ammanford via Lampeter to Aberystwyth as a speeded up version of the S52?
X52 was reused for the joint Crosville/SWT service from Swansea to Aberystwyth around 1985. The previous Crosville extension of the S52 to Swansea retained that number. By then the original SWT X52 had become X10/610.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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X52 was reused for the joint Crosville/SWT service from Swansea to Aberystwyth around 1985. The previous Crosville extension of the S52 to Swansea retained that number. By then the original SWT X52 had become X10/610.
Thanks - I knew you'd be able to clarify. I had a vague memory of the X52 in that later incarnation but was beginning to think I'd misremembered!
 

Bristol LH

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The railway off-peak day return Swansea-Cardiff is actually cheaper than the X10. Trains are also quicker and more frequent so there's little point in the service except for impecunious concessionary passholders.
One of the major attractions on the X10 is the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet at Sarn, north of Bridgend, for those travelling from both Swansea and Cardiff, so it's not just end to end business that will be affected.

The service seems to have been the victim of a death by a thousand cuts. In the last five years it's been downgraded from Irizar PB-bodied Scanias to Plaxton Profile-bodied Volvo B7Rs and more recently to red and maroon Wright Eclipse Urban-bodied Volvo B7RLEs carrying branding for local services in Swansea.

After an early 2018 trial with a First Berkshire Wright Gemini II-bodied Volvo B9TL (37987), four of the company's own Volvo B9TLs (36211-4) were allocated briefly in March 2020. I understand that these were to repainted in a red and brown version of corporate livery to give the service a 'boost', but then Covid changed all of this.

Decker Express - 1 | First Cymru converted Service X10 (Swan… | Flickr
 
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83G/84D

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Former Aberdeen based Volvo B7RLE‘s 69351 and 69355 seen at Ravenhill, Swansea as driver training buses.

Ex Bath E200 44525 seen working an X5 service.
 

Jordan Adam

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Former Aberdeen based Volvo B7RLE‘s 69351 and 69355 seen at Ravenhill, Swansea as driver training buses.
69352 should also be there fairly soon if not already. 69353 had also been due to move but is still at King Street Depot, from what I understand it is now for disposal rather than trainer conversion as it needs a new engine.
 
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cnjb8

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Nottingham
Interesting that First Cymru has received a batch of new Streetlites but that they are in standard urban colours rather than the two tone red that they have been busy rolling out. Diverted?
I had been wondering the same. The StreetLites delivered to Huddersfield a few months ago have the same livery
 

aswilliamsuk

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Interesting that First Cymru has received a batch of new Streetlites but that they are in standard urban colours rather than the two tone red that they have been busy rolling out. Diverted?
I asked the same question and it was confirmed they have been diverted from another OpCo. Quite which one, I don't know!
 

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