The Bwcabus transport scheme operating in West Wales which helps people in rural areas travel to work is celebrating its fourth anniversary
The Bwcabus service, run by Carmarthenshire County Council, enables people to travel between local towns and villages within the Bwcabus zone or connect to the main line bus services to travel further afield.
The project, backed with over £1.8m through the European Regional Development Fund, was the first of its kind in Wales, providing passengers with a service which allows them to pre-book their bus journeys from the nearest bus stop or home and links with conventional bus and train services.
Bwcabus has carried over 70,000 passenger journeys and covered over 500,00 miles.
The service operates from 7am – 7pm Monday to Saturday and is integral in allowing its 2000 registered passengers to access employment, education/training healthcare, and local services,. Launched in 2009, Bwcabus has proved to be a phenomenal success, winning several national awards and far exceeding projected targets.
Samantha Boland from Cwmsychpant, a regular user of the service said:
“I don’t drive personally and since I heard about the Bwcabus service it has became much easier for me to get to work. I don’t have to rely on others and to my surprise the cost of travel has proved to be very reasonable.”
Mrs Washer, from Rhydlewis, said: Happy 4th Birthday Bwcabus. Long may the service continue. Bwcabus has been and is a vital service for rural communities. Without Bwcabus we would be isolated and would face having to move into towns to access key services.
The Bwcabus service is operated by Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion Local Authorities, in partnership with University of South Wales and Traveline Cymru.
For further information on Bwcabus, please visit www.bwcabus.info
