FLEET UPDATE › CARDIFF BUS ARTICS
Baycars are fitted with audio-visual next stop announcement technology improving the customer experience – LEDs make interiors look so much cleaner and brighter. Of course, all this also contributes to reduced maintenance.” The four Baycars have retained their Esteban Civic seats and have been re-upholstered in E-Leather, as opposed to moquette. Why? “It’s a flagship service – we wanted to give it an uplift,” replied Gareth. “The Baycar serves a number of key institutions, including the Welsh Government. The service also carries a high proportion of tourists. As a result, the the welcome notice on the cab door is multi-lingual, featuring the top nine languages, which include German, Dutch, French and Spanish. As discussed earlier, the Baycars have been fitted with Hanover’s Audio-Visual (AV) next stop announcement system in both English and Welsh. However, they are not the first bi-lingual AV-fitted buses in Wales – that honour fell to Arriva Buses Wales for its Wrexham – Chester premium Saphire-standard service. “The AV system works fine – we’re very
About Baycar
The Baycar service was introduced in 2006 to connect the city centre to the old docklands area, which had been redeveloped to create Cardiff Bay. Frankly, the area had been transformed from an undesirable to a prime entertainment and retail area, firmly on the tourist trail. Services run from around 0600 until 2330hrs Monday to Saturdays (from 0800 on Sundays and Bank Holidays). Buses run every 10 minutes Monday to Friday daytimes, every 15 minutes Sat and Sun daytimes and every 20 minutes Monday to Friday late evenings. The core service operates runs from the Wales Millennium Centre to the northern city centre. The route is extended during Monday to Friday peak times so that the north of the route runs through Cathays Park (the Civic Centre) and the south of the route extends to Porth Teigr. Fares on the service are £1.70 for a single, or £3.40 for a return. The route leaves Cardiff Bay and then circles
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Internal vinyls promote the operator’s range of tickets including the app
pleased with it,” remarked Gareth. Indeed, he revealed: “All our new vehicles are going to be so fitted. We’re unsure whether we’re going to retrofit it as part of our refurbishment programme but it’s definitely been specified on our next batch of 30 new buses which will be launched on November 22. The vehicles include both Mercedes-Benz Citaros and ADL Enviro200s. In due course our fleet will be 100% AV bi-lingual.” Mechanically, the refurbishment has “not been huge – more gentle TLC,” according to Gareth. “We do the annual turntable overhaul but apart from that, they’re great buses.”
The brand
The Baycar brand itself has also benefitted from a complete refresh. “It’s still blue but it’s a different shade,” explained Gareth. “Ray Stenning came up with the brand originally and we’ve worked with him ever since. He not only produces great stuff, he’s also very good to work with.” Ray took up the story: “The artics were the
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. In this case, the Baycar service terminates in the city centre at Greyfriars – rather than continuing down Kingsway and St. Mary Street. Amongst the landmarks and attractions served are the castle, the Norwegian Church and the Wales Millennium Centre. Gareth Stevens commented: “We’ve seen growth on the Baycar. The bay has become increasingly popular for events such as the International Food Festival, which brings in thousands of visitors. Being a largely straight route, bendys are just the tools for the job. “We work closely with the Waterfront partners. As a result, we get good lead times for forthcoming events, which allows us to match supply with demand. They see us as an enabler.”
brainchild of former MD David Brown. With Cardiff being a European capital city, he felt the use of artics where appropriate would help to give it more of a European appeal. I felt it was a great idea – routes 17/18 had heavy loadings – artics were perfect. The Baycar really took off. “It’s now time for a refresh of the brand. We felt it was important that it was seen as part of the Cardiff Bus network now – where as originally it was felt it should be a distinct, high-profile service. It’s still meant to be both but it shouldn’t be too different to the Cardiff Bus livery. It’s now got more synergy with Cardiff Bus livery. I think in practice people were unsure if they could use Cardiff Bus tickets on the Baycar. “When it came to the external livery, we felt the old Baycar wasn’t shouting as much as it could do, so we’ve now beefed it up to sell itself better while still retaining the style and taste. It’s certainly freshened up the vehicles – they were in need of a repaint.” Turning to the interior, Ray said: “Cardiff Bus wanted to use E-Leather on the Baycar. We helped specify it in terms of colours. When they use leather, some people go overboard on contrasting colours, which can end up looking garish. Keeping the colours simple, plain and discreet is key to perpetuate the enhanced product offering. “Seemingly odd little things can add an air of quality. On these seats, twin stitching has added in contrasting colours.”
Next stop?
Plans are well advanced for the next vehicles to be refurbished, as Gareth explained: “Our artics operate for up to 20 hours a day. Our other artics are planned for refurbishment during 2014. They will start losing their red livery in place on the standard Cardiff Bus livery. “Once they’re done, we will probably move onto the original rigid OmniCitys – the 06-plates. That should see them to the end of their lives.”
Useful contacts l Best Impressions T: 020 8740 6443 W: www.best-impressions.co.uk
l Hants & Dorset Trim T: 02380 644200 W: www.hantsanddorsettrim.co.uk E: dave.clack@hdtrim.co.uk www.coachandbusweek.com
11/11/2013 19:24