Free 'b' bus to be discontinued

The controversial Free 'b' bus will be discontinued within the next month, Cardiff Council have said.

After being piloted for a year, the two buses which travel around the bus box in the city centre will be discontinued and a new electric seven-seater minibus will replace the service – aiming to provide necessary transport for the elderly and disabled through the city centre's pedestrianised zones.

Executive member for transport, Delme Bowen said: "The original idea of the Free 'b' was to link the stops around the bus box for senior citizens – but we didn't realise Cardiff Bus would also have their buses travelling around the same box."

Cardiff Council's operational manager for transport, Paul Carter, said:

"We have been carrying out a review and concluded the Free 'b' has done a job and the numbers are not as great. We accept this and are discontinuing the Free 'b'."

The council have handed in their month's notice to end the contract with Cardiff Bus who provided vehicles for the Free 'b' service. The new electric vehicles will be delivered on 24 May and are expected to start trials during the following week.

Demonstrators have called the decision a victory and plan to change Friday's protest to something more celebratory. Organiser Nathan Collins said: "We will still go down and take some photos but it will be more of a celebration than a push on the council."

Cardiff Council say they have listened to public concern but still need to provide a service to permeate pedestrianised zones for the 75% of the Free 'b' users who were over 65.

"I understand people's concerns about environment issues," said Bowen.

"But I wouldn't want to exclude the golder oldies who need this service.

"Not everyone is as young and mobile as the protesters. We are exploring opportunities for those who find it onerous to walk through the centre. But the young people are welcome to have their say and I invite them to get involved in trialling the new electric vehicle."

Carter said: "There are a number of people who have relied on the Free 'b' bus and we will trial this option and get some feedback to tailor the service to their needs. We need to keep it as flexible as possible."

A short history of the Free 'b' bus

We have been following the developments of the Free 'b' bus, which was implemented with the opening of the St David's 2 shopping centre in October.

Since low numbers using the bus and the high running costs were revealed, a Facebook campaign to 'Stop the Free 'b' bus' and a demonstration planned for this Friday emerged. See our previous posts on the Free 'b' bus here. Here is also a map of the current Free 'b' bus route – which we will update with the route of the new vehicle when it is announced.

New electric vehicle

The proposed minibus (as yes unbranded) will be trialled in the next month and is backed by the Welsh Assembly Government – keen to test new energy efficient options. This will be the first electrically powered council bus in Wales.

One vehicle will be charged at the Clare Road depot – and will make trips around the city centre on a route yet to be finalised.

The electric minibus aims to target a niche user base of passengers who require additional transport because they cannot easily walk through the city centre's pedestrianised routes.

The vehicle will work parallel to the final stages of the pedestrianisation of St Mary Street and High Street (due to finish this summer), as well as developing of the shopmobility service around St David's 2 which will expand to include evenings and weekends. Money saved from switching to the electric vehicle will go towards increasing the availability of the scooters and promoting it for elderly and less abled shoppers.

City centre transport under review

The changes made to bus services are part of a number of changes made to transport options in the city centre – all the information can be found on the council's website keepcardiffmoving.co.uk.

Soon roads on main city centre routes will ban all parking except for blue badge holders, and spaces available in the Cardiff East park and ride will be increased to 750. The bus box will remain in place. The OYBike scheme will be looked into and promoted later in the year, and infrastructure for cyclists improved (including access through pedestrianised zones).

Carter said:

"There's a lot to do in a short space of time. We're trying to pull it all together."

Cardiff Council put £15m with £15m from the Welsh Assembly for their five year Sustainable Travel Initiative.

What do you think of the council's announcement? And the new electric vehicle? Leave your comments below.