Our History
South Wales Transport commenced operating on 2 May 1914 in Swansea. It operated bus services that connected with the Swansea Improvements and Tramway Company. It was owned by British Electric Traction. In 1937, buses replaced the trams.
In 1958, South Wales Transport bought the Swansea and Mumbles Railway which was an electric tram service between Swansea and Mumbles which closed in 1960.
On 1 January 1969, it became part of the National Bus Company. In May 1987, during the privatisation of the National Bus Company, South Wales Transport was sold to a management buyout.
In February 1990, along with Brewers Motor Services and United Welsh Coaches, South Wales Transport was sold to Badgerline. All initially retained their trading names but following Badgerline merging with GRT Group in April 1995 to form FirstBus, all Welsh operations were rebranded as First Cymru.
Nowadays the company operates around 200 bus services in the South Wales area, in and between Haverfordwest, Pembroke, Tenby, Carmarthen, Llanelli, Swansea, Pontardawe, Neath, Port Talbot, Maesteg, Bridgend and Cardiff. The company operates a bus rapid transit route in Swansea, branded Swansea Metro and a frequent X10 service from Swansea to Cardiff.
Unibus
For students of Swansea University, Unibus service 8 links the Hendrefoilan Student Village, Singleton Park Campus and Bay Campus to Swansea City Centre. They also run a half hourly shuttle bus between Singleton Park Campus and Bay Campus called 8X and service 10 linking Singleton Park Campus and Bay Campus with student areas Uplands and Sketty.
Park and Ride
First Cymru operates park & ride services on behalf of local authorities, from Fabian Way and Landore in Swansea and Nant-Y-Ci in Carmarthen. There is also a summer park & ride in Tenby.
X10
First Cymru operates an hourly X10 service between Cardiff, Bridgend Designer Outlet and Swansea.
Cymru Clipper
In 2014, First Cymru started the Cymru Clipper express network which spans from Carmarthen to Cardiff. Services X1, X2, X3, X4, X6, X11, X13, X55 and X58 are encompassed into this network. Dedicated vehicles operate these services, with the majority of them offering WiFi and leather seats as standard.
Swansea Metro
First Cymru operate a bus rapid transport route between Singleton Hospital, Swansea University, Swansea City Centre and Morriston Hospital as Swansea Metro.
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A more detailed history can be downloaded from here.
FAQs
Answers to questions regarding our services and tickets
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