Where Should Cardiff Have a new Coach Station?

[Envoy]

This is not about the new Cardiff Transport Interchange - which is just for buses - but about a new coach station for long distance coaches such as National Express. National Express currently use a temporary site in Sophia Gardens. Megabus and Flixbus do not have a fixed station in Cardiff and goodness knows whether or not they would pay to use one if it were built?

Sion Barry has an article in Media Wales today about this issue.

What's happening with a new coach station for Cardiff

The initial plan was for coaches to operate out of the city's new bus station

www.walesonline.co.uk

"National Express previously had a dedicated facility within the old bus station before it made way for the Central Square 1.25 million sq ft mixed-use development".

 

[Bletchleyite]

Why can they not use the new bus station but be provided with a layover facility elsewhere? That would be best for passengers.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Why can they not use the new bus station but be provided with a layover facility elsewhere? That would be best for passengers.

It's probably because coach services take a disproportionate time to load, and you have the issue of unscheduled duplicates so it will soak up a lot of capacity in a relatively small facility.

 

[TravelDream]

The bus station has been poorly thought out and poorly designed. No doubt about that. But there's no point dwelling as it's been built now.

For the coach station, obviously somewhere within easy walking distance/ with easy walking access from Cardiff Central and the new bus station to allow for inter-modal transport. Easy access for cars is also essential.

The article already states the most logical/ best site currently still available. The Welsh Government owned wasteland to the south of Callaghan square.

 

[Envoy]

I can’t see how the you can get long distance coaches in/out of central Cardiff quickly unless they build the Eastern Bay Link section of the A4232 - effectively replacing Rover Way. The western sections of the Bay Expressway were built in the 1980’s and since then only 1 mile has been built east of the Butetown tunnel - albeit without a proper flyover at the interchange near the eastern portal.

With faster access using a completed Bay Expressway (A4232), it then surely would be logical to have the new coach station just to the south of the Central Rail station? Of course, it still needs potential bottlenecks at the Llanedeyrn interchange and at M4 J33 to the west of the city. J33 could easily be sorted out now by inserting a flyover linking the M4 and A4232. The crazy plan to put a business park on coming off the northern side of this junction should be scrapped. An elevated roundabout with traffic lights is clearly unsuitable for J33 as witnessed by the numerous jams.

I note that it is planned to have a new Metro station roughly where the current south side car park is at Cardiff Central. That does indeed limit the possible space for a coach station. It is regrettable that office buildings were erected just east of the car park as that land would have been ideal for a coach station.

 

[markymark2000]

This is not about the new Cardiff Transport Interchange - which is just for buses - but about a new coach station for long distance coaches such as National Express. National Express currently use a temporary site in Sophia Gardens. Megabus and Flixbus do not have a fixed station in Cardiff and goodness knows whether or not they would pay to use one if it were built?

Flixbus would move it seems. Given in all of their other destinations, they seem to be making efforts to serve transport hubs, even in Bristol they are about to move into the main bus station. This to me says they will pay up if it's available.

Why can they not use the new bus station but be provided with a layover facility elsewhere? That would be best for passengers.

The bus station isn't suitable for coaches. All drive on reverse off stands and so only 1 could take a middle wheelchair lift (from an accessibility stand point, not going to work). Lack of space too for safe unloading of luggage. Not much space for the numbers of passengers too (coach passengers tend to arrive at the stop earlier and care more about wanting seats and lingering close to the stand).



To reply to the title, it would mean knocking some buildings down but I would knock down the NCP car park/Yates/Crockerton on Greyfriars and then make that into a coach station with car park above (same as National Express, Manchester Chorlton Street). Then take the Nationwide/Matalan/HMV frontages on Queen Street, make this into a shopping centre/walkthrough kind of area. to provide a pleasant way to get to the coach station. This is then the north end of the city, easy to get to/from the motorway via a few different ways. Very centrally located. Depending on the size of the bus station, this could also be a bus and coach station to replace the current stands on Greyfriars Road and be a 'North bus station' (acting in a similar way to Liverpool works with north buses from Queens Square, south buses from Liverpool One).

 

[Daniel Boone]

Extension of the Coryton line as well as frequency and capacity enhancements. Build a new park and ride station near the ASDA, short distance away from the A470 means coaches won't add to the city's traffic and has the benefit of allowing people driving into Cardiff to park at Coryton and get the train into the city center. I think this is already on the cards or at least has been (or is being) considered by TFW. Always thought Cardiff North Parkway would be a good name.

I don't really see much reason at all for coaches to come right into the heart of the city center. Perhaps a PRM argument could be made but with the new level boarding FLIRTS and Tram Trains, I think the core valley lines are on their way to becoming widely accessible to all people, thanks to the "Metro" enhancements.

 

[JonathanH]

I don't really see much reason at all for coaches to come right into the heart of the city center.

Cardiff is still a coach 'destination' rather than somewhere coaches pass through. Not everyone wants an interchange journey at additional cost into the city centre.

Moeeover, what about the overnight arrivals and departures when there is no other transport running?

 

[WelshBluebird]

I don't really see much reason at all for coaches to come right into the heart of the city center.

Because lots and lots of people use the coach to get to and from Cardiff city centre!

 

[Daniel Boone]

Cardiff is still a coach 'destination' rather than somewhere coaches pass through. Not everyone wants an interchange journey at additional cost into the city centre.

Moeeover, what about the overnight arrivals and departures when there is no other transport running?

Point well made, I can't argue with the additional cost aspect. However, I think that when it comes to overnight arrivals, there's no reason why they can't make use of the interchange. Local bus services won't be using it.

 

[markymark2000]

Point well made, I can't argue with the additional cost aspect.

The whole coach parkway thing has been tried and it doesn't seem to have taken off. You can look at Milton Keynes Coachway as a great example. It doesn't seem to be overly well used. Most coaches seem to serve there now because of driver swaps or in some cases some people are connecting but on the whole, it seems lightly used, certainly by MK residents. Reading Mereoak similarly works like this and the numbers of coaches stopping at Mereoak is tiny compared to what it was. People don't want to faff around connecting to an out of town location. If people wanted this style of coach stop, London Victoria Coach Station would have shut years ago and sold on for a lot of money, with operations moved to another location closer to the M4 and/or M1 motorways.

However, I think that when it comes to overnight arrivals, there's no reason why they can't make use of the interchange. Local bus services won't be using it.

Newport Bus has just pulled the 30 out of the new bus station after 10pm due to Cardiffs lawless taxi drivers blocking the place (Newport bus says queuing, it's more like blocking. There taxi queues are 50-100 long including stopping in the middle of junctions and sitting in bus lanes. It's not queuing at all and anyone who has ever been to Cardiff knows it's blocking the place). These taxi queues tend to go on for most of the night.

Change to Route 30 in Cardiff City Centre

We are making changes to the last journey to and from Cardiff as of 11th October 2024.

www.newportbus.co.uk

From 11 October 2024 there will a permanent change to the 22:10 route 30 journey from Cardiff. On Monday to Saturday, this journey will no longer serve Cardiff Bus Interchange but will instead start from Customhouse Street (Stop JG). Unfortunately, we have been forced to take this decision due to a significant number of taxis queuing on both sides of Saunders Road. This has caused safety concerns for our customers, staff and other road users.

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Also worth noting the new bus station isn't very spacious for coaches. Only 1 stand could accommodate coaches (bearing in mind loading/unloading and wheelchair lifts) and that is stand 1. The turns into the bus station are very tight, I wouldn't fancy a tri axle coach in that bus station. Especially if coming in from Wood Street or wanting to exit towards Penarth Road/Customhouse Street.