A park and ride scheme which transports hospital staff to work is to be scrapped because of the “significant financial pressures” being placed on a Welsh council. The Carmarthen Park and Ride service currently runs every weekday offering half-hourly trips between Nantyci Showground, the town centre, and Glangwili Hospital.
The shuttle bus runs between 7.30am and 6.25pm and offers people the opportunity to park on the west end of Carmarthen, just off the A40, and travel to the hospital on the other end of the town. The service is used by hospital staff due to long-standing concerns about a lack of parking available at Glangwili Hospital itself – concerns which often result in staff having to park off-site on nearby roads and pavements.
An automatic number plate recognition system was introduced at the hospital in 2019 but was then removed after just three months because staff were left “crying and arguing” among themselves. You can read more about that here.
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The service – called PR1 – is provided by Carmarthenshire Council in conjunction with Hywel Dda University Health Board. The council has explained that the TR1 is being scrapped next month due to budget cuts, the availability of alternative bus services, and low passenger numbers. The authority has said fewer than five passengers on average use the bus per trip.
Councillor Edward Thomas said: “Whilst the PR1 will come to an end on June 16 there are several bus routes available for the public to use and travel with ease between Nantyci, Carmarthen town centre, and Glangwili Hospital. The cessation of the PR1 service was amongst a wide range of budget-saving proposals put forward to our residents in January and we have also consulted with Hywel Dda University Health Board who part fund the service.
"A 12-week notice has been issued on the PR1 bus service. The decision to bring this service to an end is due to the significant financial pressures placed upon our council, and indeed all local authorities, the low number of passengers that utilise the service, and the significant number of alternative bus services that will keep Nantyci, the town centre, and the hospital well connected.”
The council has stressed that people wishing to travel by bus between the showground and Carmarthen will be able to do so on the B11 service between Llanllwch and Parcyffordd along with the 222, 224 and 322 services which stop at the Travellers Rest on the A40. Meanwhile the 205, 206, 280, 281, 282, 322, 460, T1, T1A, T1C, and T1X will continue to run between Carmarthen town centre and Glangwili Hospital.
Andrew Carruthers, executive director of operations for Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “Parking at Glangwili Hospital continues to be a challenge for our patients, visitors, and staff due to insufficient space for the number of vehicles visiting the site. While the park and ride facilities have been in place for some time we are aware that the passenger numbers are very low and understand the council’s need to make these changes.
"We would like to reassure members of our community that improving parking facilities and access to the hospital continues to be a priority for the health board. We are working with Gwili Railway to finalise plans for their site that will enable staff to access 144 parking spaces, relieving the significant pressure on the hospital site during peak visitor times. We are also working on plans that will provide an additional 50 parking bays at Glangwili as part of the women and children’s centre development that will be completed during the summer.”
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