Cardiff Bus has announced its first fare increase in four years and scrapped several types of ticket. In a "very difficult decision", the operator announced the changes which will come into force from Sunday, April 9, 2023.
The increases affect adult and child tickets in Cardiff and Barry, and change the boundaries of these two zones and the cost of travelling between them. Some types of ticket, including short hop and the Pontprennau 57/58 return ticket, have been scrapped but replaced with new discounted fares. To get Cardiff news straight to your inbox, subscribe to our daily newsletter here.
In a statement, Cardiff Bus said: "From Sunday 9th April 2023, we are having to take the very difficult decision to increase our fares. This will be the first time any of our fares have changed in over 4 years. They were last changed in March 2019. In this time, we have seen costs increase to a level where we are now in a position that we have no option but to increase fares.
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"Despite this price increase, we’re still confident that we offer good value for money with a variety of tickets including discounted bundles of single and day tickets on the app, which will be available for more fare zones from the date above. We have also taken the opportunity to extend our flexible mobile tickets right across our network.
"These offer a single trip within Cardiff for as little as £1.80, or Barry for as little as £2.20. There are also deals on our day ticket bundles that we’ve also rolled out across all of our network. Direct debit prices will also increase from this date, and customers will be notified via letter."
Here are all the changes to ticket prices and categories:
Which tickets no longer exist?
Several types of ticket will no longer exist from April 9, with some being withdrawn altogether and others being replaced by new, similar schemes. These are the tickets you won't be able to buy after the price changes:
- Short hop
St David’s staff discounted weekly tickets
Day ticket top-ups
Cardiff City FC match day specials
Off-peak family tickets
57/58 return ticket
The short hop ticket has previously been available at £1.20 for adults and 80p for young people taking short journeys within the city centre, Canton, Roath and Cathays, Llanrunmey and St Mellons, Ely, Pontprennau and Pentwyn, and Rhiwbina, Pantmawr and Whitchurch.
You can still get a discounted fare travelling within certain zones (see below for more information) but some of the zones named above including Roath and Cathays and Rhiwbina, Pantmawr and Whitchurch will no longer be covered.
What have they been replaced with?
Although these ticket types including the short hop will be scrapped, new "fare zones" will be introduced with tickets available at cheaper prices. Those zones are:
- Inner city
Ely and Caerau
Pontprennau, Pentwyn and Llanedeyrn
A single ticket for an adult travelling through the new inner-city fare zone will cost £1.70, including for some longer journeys which previously would have cost £2. This zone stretches as far as Victoria Park in the west and Albany Road in the east.
A Cardiff Bus statement said: "This area will cover the city centre and will be available from Canton (Victoria Park) / The Ninian / Sophia Gardens in the west, to Penlan Library or Newport Road / City Road in the east, and Corbett Road / Minister Street in the north to Wynnstay Close / Durham Street / South Loudon Place / Magretion Place in the south."
This is a map of the inner city fare zone:
Cheaper single tickets will also be available in Ely and Caerau as well as Pontprennau, Pentwyn and Llanedeyrn for adults at £1.70 and children or My Travel Pass tickets (discounted travel for all 16-21 year olds across Wales) at £1.20.
For Ely and Caeru, this covers travel between Ely Legion/Colin Way and Culverhouse Cross on routes 13, 15, 17, 18, 96 and 96A. This is a map of the new zone in Ely:
And in Pontprennau, Pentwyn and Llanedeyrn the cheaper single tickets will be available for travel between The Maelfa (Services 57/58), Ael-Y-Bryn (Services 51/53), Ty Cerrig (Services 51/53), Pentwyn Interchange (Service 59) and Pontprennau Asda. This is a map of the zone:
What are the price changes?
Prices are also increasing across the board - although by a bigger margin in Barry than in Cardiff. There are a number of different types of ticket, but it is easiest to compare the price of buying single, day to-go and week to-go tickets on the bus.
These are the changes in Cardiff:
These are the changes in Barry:
When buying tickets on the app, there are several different options available. Some of these have increased too (e.g. a bundle of three to go tickets in Cardiff has increased from £10.40 to £12, and a bundle of 10 has increased from £16 to £18).
How have the ticketing 'zones' changed?
The boundaries of the Cardiff and Barry fare zones have also changed, as well as the cost of travelling between them (and to Newport). Cardiff Bus' statement explains: "From Sunday 9th April, the ‘to go’ fare zone will cover all areas of Cardiff and Penarth between Cardiff Garden Centre in St Mellons, Culverhouse Cross (B&Q), Eastbrook Railway Station and Glamorgan Golf Club, Cosmeston. Dinas Powys, Sully and Wenvoe will move to be part of the newly widened Barry fare zone. Customers travelling between Dinas Powys/Sully/Wenvoe and Cardiff will need to purchase a ‘plus’ ticket for these journeys."
This new "plus" fare replaces the existing "Cardiff and Barry" price band. This means the following price increases will happen:
What are the other changes?
Cardiff Bus has also announced the following price changes to other types of ticket:
- Adult network rider day tickets are increasing from £8.50 to £9 and week tickets from £24.50 to £26.
- Child/My Travel Pass network rider day tickets are increasing from £5.50 to £6 and week tickets from £16 to £18.
- Family network rider day tickets are increasing from £17 to £19.
- Family tickets in Cardiff and Penarth are increasing from £8.60 to £9. In Barry (now Barry, Dinas Powys and Sully) they are staying at £8, and to travel between the two it will now cost £12 rather than £11.50.
- Group tickets in the Cardiff fare zone are increasing from £10 to £15.
For more information, visit the Cardiff Bus website.
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