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Cardiff council and Cardiff Bus are planning a new central bus station which will be barred to passengers travelling only within the city, we can reveal.

The idea has astonished Wales’ leading transport expert, Professor Stuart Cole, who said it was exactly what Cardiff does not need.

Cardiff’s present bus station is due to shut in June in advance of major redevelopment work which will see a new headquarters for BBC Wales built in front of Cardiff Central train station.

'A terminating point for regional services'

Until now it has been assumed that a new bus station would be built on the site of an adjacent block of shops and offices and an NCP car park.

But it seems the new bus station won’t be a traditional one where city passengers board and get off buses.

Buried in a report produced by consultants Ove Arup last November for the council and the Cardiff Bus company it owns is a section on the new bus station which states: “For a bus strategy based on core services operating cross-city, it is proposed that the bus station’s future role would be modified as follows.

“Main use would be as a terminating point for regional (‘out of town’) services operated at relatively low frequencies. The bus station would provide space for operational layover for both regional bus services and local city services.

“The bus station would provide a location for city bus services to turn around (but not to pick-up/drop-off). In respect of city bus services, these would stop (with short dwell times) at onstreet bus stops in the vicinity of the bus station.”

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'This is exactly what Cardiff does not need'

Told of the plan to have a bus station devoid of local passengers, Prof Cole, of the University of South Wales, said: “I am astonished to learn of this, which is exactly what Cardiff does not need. This goes against all modern thinking about the need for integrated public transport, and is contrary to stated Welsh Government policy.

“Cardiff has been very fortunate in having a bus station immediately adjacent to the train station. Many cities of a similar size would be prepared to spend very large sums to achieve that, as Bradford did some years ago. This idea seems based on an out-of-date municipal bus company mindset where you don’t have a central bus station, but have buses lined up outside the town hall, well away from the train station.

“Bournemouth, for example, never had a bus station, and similarly in Chester the buses all went from near the central shops, at some distance from the train station.

“It sounds as if the bus station they are envisaging is more like a bus park, where passengers don’t go but where the driver stops the bus for a few minutes while he or she has a break and then drive on to the streets where the bus stops are.”

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'Throwback to the days of country bus stations'

Prof Cole said his understanding had been that the new bus station would be a fully functioning one, with passengers able to use it as normal.

“Suggesting that more long distance services could use it for boarding passengers is again a throwback to the days of “country” bus stations. It’s a very old-fashioned idea.”

The report written for Cardiff council and Cardiff Bus also says there will be “less [bus] stops in better locations”, and talks of creating a series of new “interchange hubs” in different parts of the city that would allow passengers to travel from districts in the east to districts in the west, for example, without having to change buses in the city centre.

The report says: “These orbital services would be best operated as a series of shorter ‘diagonal’ services, rather than full 360 degree orbital services (to avoid scheduling problems caused by long and unreliable journey times).

“Interchange hub locations would be located where frequent cross-city radial services can connect with orbital services.”

Interchange proposed at Waungron Road

Earlier this week the council confirmed that the city’s Local Development Plan (LDP) proposed a number of strategic sites across the city which are earmarked for development to deliver a vastly improved bus transport network. Any proposals earmarked for these strategic sites would be subject to the full planning process and statutory consultation.

Ramesh Patel, Cabinet member for transport, planning and sustainability, welcomed plans to create the first of the interchange hubs on the site of a recycling facility at Waungron Road, adjacent to the train station on the City Line.

He said: “The site at Waungron Road will allow those who want to travel across the city from west to east and vice versa the opportunity to travel by bus without driving into the city centre, ensuring that journey times are shorter and more direct.

"This will allow the local communities of Ely, Caerau and Fairwater wanting to travel to Heath Hospital or north and east Cardiff the opportunity to interchange at this facility to improve their journey times.

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“The site is situated close to the existing rail line, providing more opportunity to interchange from bus to rail, increasing the number of destinations that can be reached in the South East Wales region from this site. The number of vehicle movements using the site under this proposal will also reduce compared to the previous use as a waste facility.

“The council is committed to improving public transport infrastructure so we can achieve our aim to create a 50/50 modal split between those travelling by car and those travelling by public transport. Public transport has to be attractive and a viable alternative and we will continue to work with the public transport operators to deliver the infrastructure to aid this process.”

'A world class standard'

Cardiff’s LDP is currently being examined by the Welsh Government's independent planning inspector and following a number of recent public hearings, council officers are addressing the points raised and will respond within the time limits given by the planning inspector.

Cardiff council issued a statement in response to our request for a comment about the nature of the new bus station. It said: “The new bus interchange will be of a world class standard. Our strategy recognises how modern transport systems work now and how they will work in the future. Along with the proposed new central bus station, there will also be a number of strategic transport hubs across the city interlinking travel by train and bus.

“We are committed to making travel around the city easier, more direct with greater scope to travel to different locations in the city. The aim is to deliver a 50/50 model split between those travelling by public transport and private car.”