The Gower Explorer is a bus service, previously operated by
Veolia Transport Cymru and now
First Cymru
First Cymru is an operator of bus services in South West Wales. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup with its headquarters in Swansea.
History
In 1987, South Wales Transport was sold during the privatisation of the National Bus Company in a man ...
, which provides services to
Gowerton
Gowerton ( cy, Tregŵyr) is a large village and community, about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The village falls within the ...
, Horton, Llangennith, Llanmadoc, Llanrhidian,
Oxwich,
Penclawdd,
Port Eynon
Port Eynon (also spelt Port Einon, Porth Einon in Welsh) is a village and Community (Wales), community within the City and County of Swansea, Wales, located on the far south tip of the Gower Peninsula within the designated Area of Outstanding Natu ...
,
Reynoldston
Reynoldston is a rural village and a community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, which had a population of 439 in 2011. The community has its own elected community council. The village is located deep in the heart of the Gower Peninsula.
...
and
Rhossili.
The service was launched in 2004 after a £575,500 transport grant from the
Welsh Assembly Government
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
. Swansea Council used this grant to buy a fleet of six buses - four larger ones for the main routes and two small ones for the peninsula's tricky narrow lanes. Two east-west trunk routes and a linking north–south shuttle serve almost every village in the Gower, a prime tourist area west of Swansea.
In June 2010, Swansea Council announced withdrawal of bus subsidies to save £200,000 and the Gower Explorer will run on a commercial basis from 19 July 2010. Evening services will be severely curtailed and Sunday service on the northern trunk route will be withdrawn.
Awards
The success of the Gower Explorer, most notably a rise in passengers on the southern route of 18.4%, while north Gower has seen a 16.5% increase, saw the service receive a prestigious
Guardian Transport award in 2006.
See also
*
List of bus operators of the United Kingdom
:''This list is an alphabetically ordered index of current and past operators. For a structured list of current operators, see List of current bus operators of the United Kingdom''
This is a list of bus and coach operators of the United King ...
References
*
*
*
*
External links
Gower Explorer webpageGower Explorer timetable from 19 July 2010
{{Bus companies in Wales
Bus routes in Wales
Transport in Swansea
2004 establishments in Wales