Overwhelming demand for the National Lido of Wales in Ponty has seen the booking system crash several times in recent days.
Frustrated users have been left unable to book tickets despite the release of additional spaces, with all 1,800 tickets for the week ahead snapped up by 8:45am.
The leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, Andrew Morgan, has now stepped in and released the follow statement today:
I am incredibly disappointed with the ongoing issues with the booking system at the National Lido of Wales, Lido Ponty, and share the public’s frustrations with the system continuously crashing or running slow.
This morning, in total, 1,120 extra tickets were made available for Lido Ponty, comprising 160 tickets a day over the next 7 days, plus the usual 700 for next Thursday. A total of over 1,800 tickets went live at 7.30am.
Once again this morning, the system crashed and then proceeded to work very slow. It is totally unacceptable that the booking system continues to have these issues, and while we use a well-recognised national company to run the booking system, RCT Council are once again having to discuss our concerns with them and seek urgent action to resolve the problems.
Over recent days, despite several changes made to the system, it’s clear there are still issues and rightly so the public are frustrated. I have made my feelings clear and said to Council officers “something needs to change and fast” and they are relaying this message to the booking company the Council uses.
There is currently unprecedented demand for tickets, and even with the technical issues this morning, all 1,800+ tickets for the week ahead were booked by 8.45am.
With the increased places at Lido Ponty, we will have over 850 places available daily going forward, this compares to some days with over 4,000 people online trying to book. Demand greatly outstrips the number of spaces available, as Lido Ponty is still operating at a reduced capacity compared to before the pandemic. So far this season over 40,000 have already visited Lido Ponty.
Nevertheless, I have made clear to RCT Council officers that the firm supplying the booking system has to resolve these issues urgently, or if not, they need to look at another provider.
I’d like to apologise to those who have had difficulties, and I completely share your frustrations at this unacceptable situation.
