CARDIFF BUS OLYMPUS AND DARTS ON WESTGATE STREET
Cardiff is the capital city of Wales, the eleventh-largest in the United Kingdom and largest city in Wales. Demolition of the Cardiff Central Bus Station on Wood Street began in 2008, however the new Cardiff Transport Interchange is due to open in 2023. At the moment, the city's bus services are stopping at various stops around the city centre, mostly on Wood Street, Westgate Street and Customhouse Street.
Cardiff Bus, one of the few minicipal bus companies to remain in council ownership, operate most of the bus services in the city. New Adventure Travel (sometimes referred to as NAT Group) also operate services in and around the city from their depots in Cardiff and Pontypridd, including the Transport for Wales 'Fflecsi' service in North Cardiff. Other operators of local bus services in the city include Stagecoach South Wales (from their Caerphilly, Cwmbrân, Merthyr Tydfil and Porth depots), Easyway, Edwards Coaches, First Cymru (Bridgend depot) and Newport Bus.
Longer-distance coach services to destinations such as London and Birmingham also operate in the city. These are mostly run by National Express, with coaches being provided by operators such as Edwards Coaches and Travelstar European. Megabus also operate a service between Swansea and London, which calls at Cardiff.
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Vehicle Variety |  Cardiff has a wide variety of vehicles used on local bus services, including (but not limited to) Mercedes-Benz Citaros, ADL Enviro 200s and 400s, Optare Olympus-bodied Scanias, Yutong E12s and Optare Versas and MetroCitys. Caetano Levantes can also be seen in the city operating long-distance National Express services. |
| Operator Variety |  Most services in Cardiff are operated by council-owned Cardiff Bus. Stagecoach and First also operate in the city, alongside other smaller operators such as NAT, Edwards Coaches and Easyway. |
| Quantity of Buses | Being the capital city of Wales, Cardiff has quite a high quantity of high-frequency bus services, with a number of Cardiff Bus' city services operating at least every 10 minutes. Other operators also run fairly frequent services, such as Stagecoach's 132 and NAT's cross-city X1, both every 15 minutes. |
| Photograph Opportunities | Due to the demolition of the city's main bus station, most services serve a number of points in the city centre, passing landmarks such as Cardiff Castle. Traffic usually isn't too busy in the city centre, making it easier to photograph buses. |
First Cymru's 69237, a Wright Eclipse-bodied Volvo B7RLE, arriving into Cardiff City Centre on an X10 service from Swansea
New Adventure Travel's DES 278, an ADL Enviro 200, makes its way along Canal Street as it begins to work an 89A service to Dinas Powys
Cardiff Bus' 149, a Mercedes-Benz Citaro branded for routes 8 & 9, arriving into Cardiff Bay approaching its terminus stop on the 8 service for Atlantic Wharf
First's 49008, an Optare Versa, turns on to Lloyd George Avenue as it operates an X2 service from Porthcrawl to Cardiff Central railway station
New Adventure Travel's PH30, a Mercedes-Benz Tourismo in TrawsCymru livery, on Bute Street as it arrives into Cardiff on a T1C service from Aberystwyth
Cardiff Bus' 251, an ADL Enviro 200 in 'BayCar' livery, waits time outside the Millenium Centre before it works a 6 service back to St Mary Street
New Adventure Travel's OM160, an Optare MetroCity branded for the Cross City C8 route, arrives into Cardiff Bay ready to operate its next service, a C8 to Taff's Well
Cardiff Bus' 304, an ADL Enviro 400 MMC with route branding for the 57 & 58, waits time on Churchill Way whilst operating a 57 service to Pontprennau
Adventure Travel's OM139, an Optare MetroCity, on Customhouse Street whilst operating an C1 service towards Culverhouse Cross
Newport Bus' Z07, an electric Yutong E12, parked in its stop on Customhouse Street in between journeys on the 30 service to Newport
Cardiff Bus' 123, a Mercedes-Benz Citaro, loading passengers on Customhouse Street for a 58 service to Pontprennau, with a Scania Wright Solar behind on the 52 service
Cardiff Bus' 472, an Optare Olympus-bodied Scania, leaving Customhouse Street whilst setting down passengers only in the City Centre
Cardiff Bus' ADL Enviro 200, 266, on Customhouse Street whilst operating a 95 service to Barry Island
Cardiff Bus' 309, an ADL Enviro 400 MMC, on Kingsway passing Cardiff Castle as it works a 45 service towards St. Mellons
New Adventure Travel's OM 152, an Optare MetroCity, passes Cardiff Castle as it works a C8 service to Taff's Well and Thornhill
Cardiff Bus' 558, an ADL Enviro 200 MMC, passing Cardiff Castle as it arrives into the City Centre after working a 23 service from Whitchurch
Stagecoach's 37175, an integral ADL Enviro 200, heads out of the city centre on Castle Street, as it operates a 26 service to Blackwood
Cardiff Bus' 436, a Yutong E12 in heritage livery, arriving into the city centre on a 44 service along Kingsway
NX King's Ferry 4828, a Caetano Levante 2, departs Cardiff's main coach station on a National Express service
Cardiff Bus' 269, an ADL Enviro 200, parked at a bus stop on St Mary Street whilst not in service, with 251, an Enviro 200 in 'BayCar' livery, just behind after arriving from Cardiff Bay on a 6 service
Cardiff Bus' 602, a Scania OmniCity Articulated in 'baycar' livery, turning right on the crossroads on St Mary Street towards Cardiff Bay as it operates a 6 service to Porth Teigr
New Adventure Travel's OM152, an Optare MetroCity with 'Cross City' branding, passes under the railway bridge on St Mary Street, near Cardiff Central Station, on an X8 to Thornhill
Stagecoach's 26104, an ADL Enviro 200 MMC in Gold livery with route branding for the 132, approaches the crossroads on St Mary Street as it starts its next service, a 132 to Maerdy
Cardiff Bus' 308, an ADL Enviro 400 MMC, waits at traffic lights on St Mary Street whilst working a 30 service (shared with Newport Bus) to Newport via Castleton
New Adventure Travel's OM153, an Optare MetroCity with 'Cross City X8' branding, crosses the crossroads near Cardiff Central Station whilst working an X8 service to Cardiff Bay
Stagecoach's 28735, an ADL Enviro 300-bodied Scania K230UB in TrawsCymru livery with T4 route branding, on St Mary Street as it operates a TrawsCymru T4 service towards Llandrindod Wells via Merthyr Tydfil
Cardiff Bus' T161, a Mini Pointer Dart used for driver training, crosses the crossroads on St Mary Street near Cardiff Central Station, having just passed Citaro 111 heading towards Pontprennau
Stagecoach's 27691, a 2010 ADL Enviro 300, approaches the crossroads on St Mary Street as it makes its way back towards Blackwood, operating a 26 service
Adventure Travel's OM166, an Optare MetroCity, in front of Principality Stadium as it approaches Westgate Street on a C1 service
Cardiff Bus' 102, a Mercedes-Benz Citaro, on Westgate Street whilst operating a 44 service to St Mellons via Newport Road
Easyway of Pencoed's Plaxton Centre ST58 FAG passes Cardiff Bus' Citaro 103 on Westgate Street as it arrives into the City Centre on a 32A service from St Fagans
New Adventure Travel's MB170, a Mercedes-Benz Citaro, approaching its stop on Westgate Street whilst working an X11 service to Cardiff Bay (now withdrawn), passing a Cardiff Bus Pointer Dart and followed by a Stagecoach Enviro 200
Stagecoach's 26101, an ADL Enviro 200 MMC in Gold livery with '132' route branding, turns out of Westgate Street as it arrives into the City Centre after working a 132 service from Maerdy
New Adventure Travel's OM134, an Optare MetroCity, approaches its stop on Westgate Street whilst working an X1 service towards Culverhouse Cross
First's 63092, a Wright StreetLite DF in Cymru Clipper livery, leaving Westgate Street as it works an X2 service to Porthcrawl
Easyway of Pencoed's BW56 BUS, an Optare Solo, heading along Westgate Street whilst operating a 32A service to St Fagans
Cardiff Bus' 262, an ADL Enviro 200, loading passengers on Wood Street ready to operate a 92 service to Penarth St Lukes Avenue
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