A series of revised bus routes have been published following a change in contracts covering the north of Carmarthenshire.
Carmarthenshire County Council has completed a tender process following notice from Morris Travel that it intended to hand back the routes it operates around the Llanarthne, Crugybar, Carmel, Llandeilo and Llandovery areas as of January 19.
As a result, the council has confirmed that it has been able to partially replace services in the Llandeilo, Llandovery and Lampeter areas which were under threat.
A new tender has been agreed with Morris Travel for services based around Llandeilo, which will see little change to services 276, 283 and 284 but with services 278 and 279 no longer operating on Mondays, and service 277 no longer operating on Saturdays.
However, services between Llandovery and Lampeter will be affected long-term with no response to the tender for these routes.
Whilst there will be no direct services between Llandovery and Lampeter, the existing Bwcabus service has agreed to extend its area to provide all settlements with a bus service of some sort, albeit on reduced days for some.
The changes come in to effect on January 21, 2019. Timetables will be published on the council’s website and Traveline Cymru and distributed on the buses and via the council’s mobile library service in the coming weeks.
Cllr Hazel Evans, Executive Board Member for Environment, said: “Whilst unfortunately some areas will have a reduced bus service, we have worked hard to rearrange routes so that no settlements are left without access to services at all. We are fortunate to have the Bwcabus service available to help out in those areas most heavily affected by the reductions, and for some users the presence of the Bwcabus will potentially improve and enhance their access to public transport.
“The public transport network in these areas continue to be very heavily subsidised by the County Council and we urge residents of those communities which do not have access to other buses to continue to support these services to ensure their further continuation.”
The services will be reviewed over the next 12 months to monitor usage in more detail.
Anyone wishing to make suggestion which could help to improve the services should contact the council’s Passenger Transport team on 01267 228326.
Revised services, effective January 21, 2019, are:
- Service 276, Llandeilo – Llandybie – Maesybont – Carmarthen: The service will continue to operate on Tuesdays but the buses will no longer run via Whitemill.
- Service 277, Gelli Aur – Llandeilo – Llanfynydd – Carmarthen: The service will continue to operate on Wednesdays but the buses will no longer run via Whitemill. There will no longer be a Saturday service.
- Service 278, Llandeilo – Carmel – Maesybont – Carmarthen: The service will continue to operate on Thursdays but the buses will no longer run via Whitemill. There will no longer be a Monday service.
- Service 279, Carmarthen – Botanic Garden – Llanarthhey – Gelli Aur – Llandeilo: The service will continue to operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays but the buses will no longer run via Whitemill. There will no longer be a Monday service.
- Service 283, Llandeilo – Crugybar – Brechfa – Carmarthen: The service will continue to operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
- Service 284, Llandeilo – Crugybar – Pentregwenlais – Ammanford: The service will continue to operate on Fridays.
Services 288 and 289 between Llandovery and Lampeter will no longer operate in their present format, and will be partially replaced by the following services:
- Service 289 will run on Mondays only from Llandeilo to Llandovery via Salem, Cwmdu, Talley, Crugybar and Llanwrda. Passengers will be able to change at Crugybar onto Bwcabus service 689 for Lampeter. The inward journey will be diverted to arrive at Llandovery via New Road and Stone Street at the request of existing passengers.
- Service 687 will be a new service on Fridays only, starting from Rhydcymerau and running through Llanybydder into Lampeter. Service 687 will be part of the Bwcabus network but passengers will not need to pre-book to travel and will be able to turn up and catch the bus as they would any other bus service.
- Service 689 will be a new service on Mondays and Thursdays only, running between Lampeter and Crugybar, Caio, Dolaucothi, Pumsaint, Ffarmers and Cwmann. On Mondays, passengers will be able to change at Crugybar into service 289 for Llandovery. Service 689 will also be part of the Bwcabus network but passengers will not need to pre-book to travel and will be able to turn up and catch the bus as they would any other bus service.
- In addition to these services, the areas of Llanybydder, Rhydcymeau, Crugybar, Dolaucothi, Pumsaint, Ffarmers and Cwmann previously served by routes 288 and 289 will now be in the Bwcabus area. This means that, subject to availability, passengers will be able to book a bus on days and at times which were not available previously. This will improve options for journeys not just within the local areas but with connections to other services, particularly the TrawsCymru T1 service to Carmarthen and to Aberystwyth. Further details on the Bwcabus service are available from the Bwcabus call centre on 01239 801 604 or on the website at bwcabus.info
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