Electric bus route sees increase in passengers

An electric bus route between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth has seen a 65 per cent increase in passengers this year.

The new electric TrawsCymru buses were launched at the end of March 2023. They carried more than 100,000 passengers in their first six months in service. Since then, they have shown an overall increase of passengers by 65% compared to 2022/23.

Each electric bus saves around 3kg of CO2 per round trip - the equivalent of 13,000 cups of tea.

The increase is being attributed to promotional offers, which include a £10 travel all-day for two adults and two children summer group ticket, an integrated rail and bus ticket for cheaper travel from Cardiff to Aberystwyth and 50% off journeys during September’s 'Catch the Bus' month.

The cabinet secretary for North Wales and transport, Ken Skates said: “This is great news for bus users and the environment. The introduction of these greener, modern, more comfortable buses has clearly encouraged more people to use the Traws Cymru T1 service and I'm grateful to everyone involved in making this happen.”

Mark Jacobs, contracts and performance manager for TrawsCymru said: “Launching the all-electric TrawsCymru T1 service last year was a significant moment in the story of TfW and our development into a truly multi-modal organisation.

“Feedback on the new service has been overwhelmingly positive and the increase in passenger numbers demonstrates how an improved public transport offering can positively influence people’s travel behaviours.

“The success of the new T1 fleet is the result of an effective partnership with the teams at Carmarthenshire County Council and First Cymru, who have provided invaluable support to making this vital Carmarthen to Aberystwyth bus service the high-end public transport offering that it is today.”