Cardiff Central bus station

Cardiff Central bus station
Cardiff Central bus station in April 2009
Location	Cardiff city centre Wales
Owned by	City of Cardiff Council
Bus stands	34
Bus operators	Cardiff Bus Eurolines First Cymru NAT Group National Express Newport Bus Stagecoach South Wales
Connections	Cardiff Central railway station
History
Opened	1954
Closed	1 August 2015

Cardiff Central bus station was the main bus transport interchange in the Cardiff city centre. With 34 stands, it was the largest bus station in Wales. It was located adjacent to Cardiff Central railway station forming a major interchange.

The station used to handle the vast majority of bus and coach services that run in and through the city. Notable exceptions were Megabus services (which called at Kingsway and Cardiff University),^[1] Stagecoach South Wales route 122 (which called at Greyfriars Road)^[2] and EST route 89 (which used Customhouse Street).^[3]

History

The bus station in 1980

From the south-east (2009)

The terminal building from Wood Street in 2007

The site of Cardiff's bus station had previously been an area of housing and shops known as Temperance Town. However, demolition of Temperance Town commenced in 1937 after the Great Western Railway persuaded the Cardiff Corporation to improve the view from their new railway station.^[4] The Central bus station opened in 1954.^[5]

Demolition of the bus station began in 2008 with the terminus building being demolished. Before work began, there were eight concourses lettered A-F and W with each concourse having numbered stands.

Redevelopment

Demolition of the terminal building in 2008

Redevelopment of the bus station began in 2008.^[6] Demolition of the old terminal buildings (between stand A and Wood Street stands) started on 11 January 2008, with buses instead picking up at Castle Street and Westgate Street. On 6 May 2008, Stand A at the bus station closed for demolition of the terminal buildings.^[7] As of 4 January 2009, some services reverted to using the bus station, whilst others remained split between the alternative terminal points.^[8]

A multi-million-pound modernisation of Cardiff central bus station was announced in December 2010, with three options for public consultation.^[9] In December 2011 the council announced that the existing bus station would close in early 2013 and the new bus station would be built on the site of the neighbouring Wood Street Car Park. The new bus station would open in mid-2014, and provide 19 bays and have direct access to Westgate Street and St Mary Street via Saunders Road.^[10] A further announcement was made in January 2012, that negotiations were underway to sell off the existing bus station land to two major companies, who would build a 12-storey headquarters on the site. Part of the proceeds from the sale would be put towards redesign and redevelopment of Central Square, which would be renamed Capital Square.^[11] These plans were put in doubt after the May 2012 council election.^[12]

In October 2014 a new masterplan was revealed for the area, produced by architects Foster + Partners. BBC Cymru Wales earmarked the bus station as the site for its new headquarters.^[13] Proposals for a replacement bus station were to be put to the City of Cardiff Council later in 2014.^[14] In June 2015 Foster + Partners were chosen as the preferred architects and images were revealed of the new bus station, which would be completed by mid-2018. The final part of the bus station closed on 1 August 2015.^[15][16] The new bus station would have 11-storeys above the ground floor bus terminus and be linked to the railway station by a glass canopy.^[17] Originally scheduled to open in December 2017, as at March 2017 funding had yet to be secured.^[18]

Facilities

Eating and drinking facilities such as a Burger King, as well as other shops and bus company offices, faced the stands on Central Square. Taxi ranks were located on both sides of the station.

Toilets and a newsagent were located at stand A which was demolished in mid-2008 as part of the redevelopment of the station. However, these services are available in the adjacent Cardiff Central railway station.

Services

Cardiff Bus and Stagecoach South Wales buses at the bus station in April 2007

There were 34 stands at the station, which were located on Central Square, off Wood Street and opposite the Millennium Stadium, in the Cardiff city centre. The operating schedule was:

• Cardiff Bus operated services to Cardiff's districts and suburbs, cross-city services and services to Cardiff Bay, Barry, Llandough, Cogan, Penarth, Dinas Powys, Llantwit Major and Cardiff Airport
• Stagecoach South Wales provided services to Caerphilly, Blackwood, Senghenydd, Pontypool, Merthyr Tydfil, Cwmbran, Abergavenny and Hereford
• Newport Bus provided two services to Newport, one a direct route via the M4 and one via Risca
• EST Buses provided services to the Vale of Glamorgan
• First Cymru provided services to Swansea, Porthcawl, Cowbridge and Bridgend
• National Express provided services to Swansea, Bristol, Heathrow Airport, Gatwick Airport, London, Birmingham and Northern England
• Eurolines began a new service to Cork, Ireland in October 2011,^[19] via the Pembroke to Rosslare ferry

References

Transport in Cardiff
Road	M4 motorway European route E30 A48(M) motorway A48 road A470 road A469 road A4054 road A4119 road A4160 road A4161 road A4232 road
Bus	Bus transport in Cardiff Cardiff Central bus station Cardiff Bus Iff card Stagecoach South Wales NAT Group Free b city shuttle Baycar Capital City Red Capital City Green
Cycling	Cycling in Cardiff Taff Trail Lôn Las Cymru Ely Valley Trail NCR 88 Pont y Werin
Railway lines and operators	Rail transport in Cardiff South Wales Main Line Valley lines ■ Butetown branch ■ City Line ■ Coryton Line ■ Maesteg Line ■ Merthyr line ■ Rhondda line ■ Rhymney line ■ Vale of Glamorgan Line Arriva Trains Wales CrossCountry Great Western Railway
Major railway stations	Cardiff Central Cardiff Queen Street
Other city railway stations	Birchgrove Cardiff Bay Cathays Coryton Danescourt Fairwater Grangetown Heath High Level Heath Low Level Lisvane and Thornhill Llandaf Llanishen Ninian Park Radyr Rhiwbina Ty Glas Waun-gron Park Whitchurch List of railway stations in Cardiff
Air	Cardiff Airport Cardiff Heliport
Water	Cardiff Waterbus Tiger Bay River Taff River Ely Cardiff Bay Barrage

Coordinates: 51°28′35″N 3°10′45″W / 51.47643°N 3.17905°W / 51.47643; -3.17905