Baycar (also styled as baycar) is a bus service in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, serving the city centre and Cardiff Bay. The service forms part of the wider

Cardiff Bus Cardiff Bus ( cy, Bws Caerdydd) is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. The company is wholly owned by Cardiff Council and is one of the few municipal bus companies to ...

network, but is unique in that the entire Baycar bus system includes its own branded vehicles, bus shelters and boards.

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.Cardiff's Baycar bus recognised at awards
/ref> Under the 5-year contract, the bus service was subsidised £200,000 per month by

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

, which owns Cardiff Bus, and by the

Welsh Government , image = , caption = , date_established = , country = Wales , address = , leader_title = First Minister () , appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...

.Cardiff Council
/ref> 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.

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 Cathays Park ( cy, Parc Cathays) or Cardiff Civic Centre is a civic centre area in the city centre of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, consisting of a number of early 20th century buildings and a central park area, Alexandra Gardens. It i ...

(the Civic Centre) and the south of the route extends to

Porth Teigr Porth Teigr ( en, Tiger Gate) is an area under development in the Cardiff Docks, docks area of Cardiff Bay, in the south of Cardiff, Wales. Its development began in 2008. The multi-use area will host the Roath Lock, BBC drama village, with plans ...

.Cardiff Bus: ''Baycar''
/ref> 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 vehicle, presently ADL Enviro 200, have its own distinct blue livery. It is equipped with seats with leather headrests, air-conditioning, reserved spaces for buggies and wheelchairs, CCTV, free

WiFi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wa ...

, on-bus screens with local travel information, hearing induction loop and next stop information.Cardiff Bus: ''Baycar''

Route

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 *

Roath Lock BBC Roath Lock Studios is a television production studio that houses BBC drama productions including ''Doctor Who'', '' Casualty'', and . The centre topped out on 20 February 2011 and filming for such productions commenced in autumn of the sam ...

* Norwegian Church Arts Centre *

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

* Mermaid Quay * Red Dragon Centre * Senedd *

Pierhead Building The Pierhead Building ( cy, Adeilad y Pierhead) is a Grade I listed building in Cardiff Bay, Wales. One of Cardiff's most familiar landmarks, it was built in 1897 as the headquarters for the Bute Dock Company. The Pierhead Building is part of th ...

* Cardiff Waterbus stops *

Techniquest Techniquest is a science discovery centre located in Cardiff Bay. It gives visitors a hands-on approach to science and includes a science theatre, a planetarium, and an exhibition space with over 100 interactive exhibits aimed at visitors of a ...

;Cardiff City Centre * St David's Centre *

Cardiff Central Library Cardiff Central Library (now Cardiff Central Library Hub) ( cy, Llyfrgell Ganolog Caerdydd) is the main library in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. It offers a public library service and is open six days a week. Four buildings have been nam ...

Cardiff International Arena Cardiff International Arena (formerly known as Cardiff International Arena & Convention Centre and later, for sponsorship reasons, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff) is an indoor exhibition centre and events arena located in Cardiff, Wales, and was ope ...

* Capitol Centre *

Civic centre A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...

* Cardiff University * Cardiff Castle * Millennium Stadium

References

External links