Council does a U-turn after 500 sign petition over the route through Pentwyn and Cyncoed
RESIDENTS in Pentwyn, Llanedeyrn and Cyncoed appear to have saved their 51/53 bus service – subject to funding – after collecting 518 signatures on a petition.
The service went from the city centre to Pentwyn, Llanedeyrn and Cyncoed, via Albany Road, the Rhydypenau Crossroads, and Birchgrove.
It was pulled in September last year when the council stopped funding it after routes were changed at the end of summer. The petition was raised in October.
The council cabinet office has now said that having received the petition it intends to reinstate the 51/53 bus service from April 2024, subject to the availability of Welsh Government funding.
Resident Sharon Todd said: “For me this will be great. I work on Maes y Coed Road and this means I can catch a bus rather than walk to work.”
The service was partially replaced by the 101/102 service. The 102 has maintained some access to the hospital, but this route only runs every three hours. It also doesn’t go to Albany Road and the city centre, which were both popular destinations for passengers.
But, the 101/102 service has provided access to some areas of the city that Pentwyn and Llanedeyrn didn’t have before. These areas include Rhymney, Llanrumney, and western areas of the city like Llandaff and Fairwater.
For me this will be great. It means I can catch a bus rather than walk to work.
Sharon Todd
Councillor for Pentwyn, Joe Carter, said he’s very pleased about the news but is unsure whether funding which actually appear.
“As a community we don’t want or need warm words of ‘we would like to’. We want the council to take action on this to make it a priority.”
Resident Jules Farrell said that it was just another service that had been taken away from Pentwyn and Llanedeyrn, referring to the leisure centre that has been closed since lockdown.
The council and Cardiff Bus are yet to confirm whether this will mean the end of the 101/102 service.
