South Wales Bus Challenge

Is it possible to get from Cardiff to Bethlehem by bus?

Wales’s rural bus services are under threat. Government cuts have already seen the frequency of some services reduced, and other routes have already been scrapped. The Welsh Government has cut the Local Transport Services Grant by 3% — in some rural areas the LTSG funds half of the services. In addition, there are fears that the continuing free bus pass scheme, which allows elderly and disabled people to travel free of charge, could lead to more services having to be scrapped.

How important are local bus services to communities? Are they well used? Are they efficient?

To find out, I’ve decided to make a lengthy journey purely by local bus, starting from outside my flat in Richmond Road, Cardiff. The destination – with Christmas just around the corner – is the tiny village of Bethlehem, Carmarthenshire.

Bethlehem by Bus

The point of this blog is that travelling is more about the journey than the destination; the thrill of relying on your instincts, experiencing the world, engaging with people. A journey is travel for travel’s sake.

I’ve made a few epic journeys during my own relatively modest travelling career. The next, and possibly the most difficult (and which will be chronicled on this blog) will be a lengthy jaunt across South Wales, purely using local bus services. It will start at Cardiff’s Lowther Road and conclude – with Christmas being just round the corner — at the tiny, remote village of Bethlehem, Carmarthenshire.