Cardiff Bus is calling on drivers to embrace sustainable transport ahead of the city’s biggest ever car-free day this weekend.
The bus operator is supporting Car Free Cardiff 2018 on Sunday 13 May, which will see the city centre closed off to vehicles for the day.
The car free day, organised by Cardiff Council, is being held to encourage greater awareness of sustainable transport methods in the city, such as bus travel, while also attempting to tackle issues including carbon emissions and air pollution.
During the day there will be lots of free events taking place in the city centre including sporting activities, live entertainment and performances, including BMX demonstrations, a climbing wall, a mountain biking track, and a skateboard ramp.
Alongside this, the HSBC UK Let’s Ride Cardiff event will also be held to encourage families to jump on their bikes and pedal a 5k circuit around the Welsh capital’s closed roads.
As part of the event on Sunday, 14 roads including Westgate Street, Castle Street, areas around Cathays Park, and a section of North Road, will be closed off to cars, however to enable everyone to enjoy the car free day, Cardiff Bus will be running services into the city as normal.
To encourage car users to travel by bus, the price of the Adult Day to Go ticket is being reduced from £3.80 to just £2.50 all day. The Park & Ride site at Cardiff East will also be open to allow car users to use the park & ride for a reduced price of just £2 per car on the day. Shuttle buses will run to and from the city centre every 15 minutes from 9.30am to 5.30pm.
Due to the city centre road closures, bus services will depart from alternative stops throughout the day until 8pm, including the Baycar, which will depart from Customhouse Street, and will not serve the city centre loop or the rear of the train station.
The 8,9, 9A, and X45 to Cardiff Bay Retail Park will all depart from Canal Street; while the Heath Hospital service will depart from Churchill Way. Departing from Westgate Street will be the 13, 17 and 18, 25, 61, 63 and 63A, 64, and 96A; while the 21, 23, 24 and 27, 28B, 30, 35, and 54 will be leaving Greyfriars Street.
Also departing from Churchill Way on Sunday will be the 44, 45, 49, 50, 52, 57, 58 and 61 services, along with the X45 and X59.
Cardiff Bus commercial manager Gareth Stevens said the car-free day was a vital step towards encouraging the use of sustainable transport in Cardiff.
He said: “We are delighted to be supporting this year’s Car-Free Cardiff 2018 event and helping to provide transport into the city throughout the day.
“At Cardiff Bus we are committed to working with Cardiff Council to help tackle issues surrounding congestion and air pollution.
“As such we welcome this initiative, which will help to bring people together to enjoy the outdoors, and promote sustainable, and environmentally friendly, methods of transport across Cardiff.
“Come along and visit our bus and get a free goodie bag and find out about our services. We will be located by Cardiff Castle on Kingsway between 10am and 4pm.
“Due to the length of the event taking place on May 13, there will be diversions in force across our network, however we aim to keep disruption to a minimum throughout the day.
“For full information on alternative departures on Sunday please visit www.cardiffbus.com or contact us via our social media channels on Twitter and Facebook.”
