Cardiff Bus

Despite living in Cardiff, I have never used Cardiff Bus until only recently. Due to where I need to be, I normally have only ever dealt with Newport Bus (refer to my 5-​star review of them, they’re amazing!). Seeing as how I much prefer city of Cardiff over Newport in about every other way, I thought it’d be the same when it comes to public transportation — but nope! Although Cardiff Bus has not managed to trump my love for the Newport service, they still do get a lot of praise from me at the end of the day.
~ The Drivers:
From my experience, the drivers are very patient and friendly though I’m hesitant to ask for directions. The first time I did, I told the driver where I needed to go (it’s a major destination, so you’d think they’d know) and the response was «Don’t really know. I just know how to drive the route I’m taking.» How helpful. Thankfully, the buses come equipped with a clear-​to-​understand automated announcer that tells you the name of the next stop. However, if you’re a newbie like I was, I would open up GPS on your phone just to double check.
~ The Buses:
Unlike other people, I haven’t actually experienced any instance of overcrowding and I take the bus during work rush hours. I’m guessing that it definitely depends on the route and possibly if you’re using the buses on weekends or half-​term when the kids are out. From my experience, the buses themselves seem to be relatively clean too and like I said, come with the announcer that helps you navigate where you need to be. If there’s too much chatter or you’re hard of hearing, they also have a monitor at the front of the bus that displays the next stop as well.
~ Prices:
The standard prices on Cardiff Bus (for adult) is cheaper than Newport Bus. However, I think that the regular customer deals with Newport are cheaper. If you’re a regular, you can get a regular recurring monthly ticket through direct debit or 4 weeks with their new Iff app that I reluctantly downloaded as it’s a tad bit fiddly (just look at the poor app reviews).
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All in all, I do appreciate Cardiff Bus’s attempt at modernity with their e-​tickets you can get on an app and show the driver, the monitors and announcers telling you the next stop, and so on. There’s certainly nothing bad about Cardiff Bus that I’ve experienced — the buses come frequently and can get you just about anywhere you want to get to around the city!

Anyone who has EVER had any dealings with Cardiff bus will know exactly where I’m coming from! If you rely on the service for work or other then you know waiting for your bus to actually arrive on time is like wAiting for your girlfriend to get ready when she says she will only be 2 mins… then when you contact the customer service you’ll get a prompt answer of where your bus is… about 6 hours later!!!
Then there is the other side to them, the drivers… Yes you drive a bus, well done you!
Yes your bus is bigger than our cars, again well done you… That does not give you ownership of the road or permission to just pull out of the bus lane/​stop without waiting for a safe time to do it

It is pretty rare that I need to catch a city bus as I’m very used to walking a lot. Where I was brought up everything was mountains so to be faced with a 4 mile walk out of town, at an average walking speed of 4 miles an hour on flat ground in realistic shoes, is not a problem. In fact, I will probably do it in half that time and save the money. I have on occasions however, felt the need to catch the bus. There have been days when it has been raining and I have had a pocket full of enough change that I have jumped on the bus. I find it is usually pretty packed out and as with any public transport you never know what kind of people you are going to be sitting next to.
I have to admit; the thing I like about city buses is that they require the correct change. To a lot of people this is probably a bit of a pain but I can see the logic and I appreciate it. It really does my nut in when you’re already on the bus and in a hurry then some numpty decides to get on the bus with a £20 note. At least with Cardiff bus they get on, throw the money in the box, get issued a ticket and find a seat. No hassle, no nonsense, tidy!
I can’t comment as to how punctual they are as I don’t really wait for buses, if there isn’t one there I walk to the next bus stop etc. What I will say though is that in Cardiff city centre there appear to be so many buses throughout the day that you should have no problem going where you need to go.

I rarely ever use the buses in Cardiff if I need to get anywhere then I usually walk as it’s cheaper and I need the exercise. On this particular occasion I thought I’d be lazy and visit my friend in Llandaff and since I don’t use the buses I thought I’d ask in the office what I had to do in terms of bus time and numbers, as I couldn’t make sense of the route maps that were up in the station.
The staff were very helpful giving me rough times and what bus I needed to get and sure enough I got to my destination. The price of a single wasn’t bad either (around the £1.60 mark I believe). My advice to anyone moving to Cardiff to study is buy yourself a annual bus pass for £360 especially if you’re living in halls and they require you to travel into the city centre to get to your university campus as they can prove invaluable until you get to know the city.

When I think of public transport the inner snob inside me turns my nose up. I wouldn’t usually get on a bus for love nor money but when the snow hit cardiff earlier this year I had no choice.
I expected smelly commuters invading my personal space.
However I surprised that it wasn’t as bad as I thought. The bus itself was one of those new style bendy buses. It was clean and it even had a TV on board. (I grew up in London and a TV on a bus wouldn’t have lasted five minutes, every scally within a ten mile radius would have been trying to steal it.)
The journey was short and sweet with the only negative being that the driver was very heavy on the breaks!
It only cost £1.50 but word of warning you have to have the correct money as they do not give out change.
I probably won’t be getting a bus anytime soon… but at least I know it is an option if I were ever to be stranded again!

Compliments and public transport: not, it’s fair to say, the most frequent bedfellows. Cardiff’s chief bus company should probably take a bow about now then, because the majority of the time it’s actually a punctual service fit for a capital city. Catching a bus in the city has become an infinitely less zone-​checking, coin-​juggling nightmare since they introduced standardised prices: £1.50 for any single and £3 for a ‘Day To Go’ (unlimited trips for the day). City centre drop-​off points have become confusingly scattered during huge redevelopments to the main bus station, however, often dependent on time of day, and even locals are wise to check exact routes with the driver.

I’ll have to agree with Miss Anna T. and say that, more often than not, Cardiff’s buses are indeed packed with commuters, often bringing you face-​to-​armpit with someone you’d rather not be on that level of intimacy with.
But for the most part, Cardiff Bus is excellent for travelling to certain locations that the train systems can’t reach, like Cowbridge or St. Mellon’s.
Like any method of public transport, you’re at the mercy of whoever’s been scheduled that day, but from my experience, most drivers have been incredibly helpful and knowledgeable (and patient — even after living here four years, I still don’t know where the hell I’m going and need directions constantly).
Also, make sure you’re carrying the exact amount of money, as the drivers aren’t able to provide change for tickets. And it’s worth noting that bus lines like the Bay Car are a bit more expensive, so plan accordingly.
If you’re looking to get around the city centre, I’d first visit the Cardiff Bus website, as certain routes have changed since the St. David’s shopping centre opened.

Cardiff Bus is the main provider of transport in the city and has quite an extensive network around the city and suburbs.
My biggest problem with this service is that every bus i’ve ever been on is packed. Its a great way to meet the locals, but not so comfortable in summer when its hot and sweaty! Maybe I just lived on a really busy route. The other issue is that it generally seems quicker to walk if your not far from town, especially if you have to wait 20 minutes for it to turn up.
The bendy Bay car buses are useful for getting between the Bay and City and useful for tourists.
You’ll find main bus station located next to the Central Train Station. Singles start at £1.50 for a single.