Baycar

Baycar (also styled as baycar) is a bus service in Cardiff, serving the city centre and Cardiff Bay.

6 baycar
Overview
SystemCardiff Bus
VehicleScania Omnicity (Articulated)
Route
LocaleCardiff city centre, Cardiff Bay
StartPorth Teigr or Wales Millennium Centre
ViaNorwegian Church, Senedd, Red Dragon Centre, Central Station, St. David's, Intl Arena, Queen Street station, Cathays Park, Cardiff Hilton, Cardiff Castle, St Mary's Street, Millennium Stadium, Central Station, Red Dragon Centre, Senedd, Norwegian Church
EndWales Millennium Centre or Porth Teigr
Service
Frequency10 mins (15–20 mins off-peak)
Journey time34 mins

The service forms part of the wider Cardiff Bus network, but is unique in that the entire Baycar bus system includes its own branded vehicles, bus shelters and boards.[1]

History

The service was introduced in 2006 to connect the city centre to the old Cardiff docklands redeveloped to create Cardiff Bay, a primarily entertainment and retail area.

In 2007, the service was used by 39,000 each week.[1]

Under the 5-year contract, the bus service was subsidised £200,000 per month by Cardiff Council, which owns Cardiff Bus, and by the Welsh Government.[2]

The Baycar system came second to consumer watchdog Bus Users UK Cymru Wales, under the Best Example of Participation in Transport category, at the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Wales' National Transport Awards in 2007.[1]

Service pattern

Services run from around 06:00 until 23:30 Monday to Saturdays (from 08:00 on Sundays and Bank Holidays). Buses run every 10 minutes Monday–Friday daytimes, every 15 minutes Sat-Sun daytimes and every 20 minutes Monday–Friday late evenings.

The core service operates runs from the Wales Millennium Centre to the northern city centre. The route is extended during peak times (Monday–Friday 0645–1930 (to Civic Centre) / 0645–2010 (to Porth Teigr)) so that the north of the route runs through Cathays Park (the Civic Centre) and the south of the route extends to Porth Teigr.[3]

Fares on the service are, a with all Cardiff Bus services, £2.00 for a single, or £4.00 for a return/day-to-go ticket (as of December 2019).

Vehicles

The vehicles, all presently articulated Scania OmniCity, have their own distinct livery. They are equipped with seats with leather headrests, air-conditioning, reserved spaces for buggies and wheelchairs, CCTV, free WiFi, on-bus screens with local travel information, hearing induction loop and next stop information.[4]

Route
Baycar
Peak only
King Edward VII Avenue
(Cardiff University)
City Hall /
National Museum
Kingsway
Fri/Sat late eve only
 Greyfriars Road
Cardiff Castle
Dumfries Place
Castle Street
Queen Street Station
St. Mary St
Cardiff Int'l Arena
The Hayes
(St. David's)
Central Station
(South side)
Magretion Close
Glanhowny Close
Cardiff Bay Station
Atlantic Wharf
(Red Dragon Centre)
Millennium Centre
Norwegian Church
BBC Cardiff Bay
Porth Teigr
Peak only

The route leaves Cardiff Bay and then circles the city centre anti-clockwise, returning south to towards Cardiff Bay. On Friday and Saturday nights and during events at the Millennium Stadium, only the eastern and northern parts of the city centre are served due to road closures to vehicles. In this case, the baycar service terminates in the city centre at Greyfriars, not continuing down Kingsway and St. Mary Street.

Amongst the landmarks and attractions served are:

Cardiff Bay
Cardiff City Centre
gollark: I *had* my *last* phone for about two years, but it broke last month.
gollark: No, that would be ridiculous.
gollark: Technically, if I had USB debugging on to control it, it could be used as, I don't know, a very expensive USB 4G stick with battery backup, but I *don't*.
gollark: The touchscreen won't respond to input, so it's basically useless.
gollark: Something like that?

See also

References
  1. Cardiff's Baycar bus recognised at awards
  2. Cardiff Council
  3. Cardiff Bus: Baycar
  4. Cardiff Bus: Baycar Archived 15 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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