Local MP Craig Williams welcomes the significant investment made by Stagecoach

Local MP for Cardiff North, Craig Williams has welcomed the significant investment in bus improvements made by Stagecoach South Wales.

Mr Williams travelled on Friday 3rd March alongside Nigel Winter, Managing Director of Stagecoach in South Wales on Service 132 from Tongwynlais to Whitchurch.

The local MP spent the morning finding out about the significant investment that local bus company Stagecoach has made recently, including the £4 million invested in 24 new vehicles for Service 132; Rhondda Valley to Cardiff.

Stagecoach launched its latest fleet of luxury Gold buses in December 2016. The investment means travellers using Service 132 bus route, which passes through Porth, Pontypridd and Whitchurch toward Cardiff, are treated to a five star luxury service as they enjoy the comfort of leatherette high back seats, increased legroom and free WiFi and USB charging.

The latest launch of Stagecoach Gold buses is the second fleet of its kind to be introduced in South Wales. The Service 132 joins the X24 gold service currently operating from Blaenavon, Varteg Hill, Pontypool, Cwmbran and Newport which went Gold last year.

Craig Williams also praised Stagecoach for delivering a series of customer improvements including smart ticketing, free Wifi and USB charging points.  The Stagecoach website and new Stagecoach Bus app allows customers to find their nearest bus stop, plan their journey, find out when the next bus is due through the use of real-time information and buy their tickets. As well as traditional cash payments and smart ticketing, Stagecoach has recently introduced mobile ticketing and the company has committed to introducing contactless payments by 2018.

Craig Williams said: “It was great to have the opportunity to join Nigel Winter on the 132 service and see first-hand the new Gold bus. Constituents who use public transport want a safe, reliable and comfortable service. The 132 service has that and you can use Wifi and charge smartphones on the move. I also look forward to contactless payment being introduced in the future”.

Nigel Winter, Managing Director of Stagecoach in South Wales commented: “We have invested almost £30m in more than 260 new buses in Wales in the past 10 years. These are cleaner, greener vehicles, many of which also offer free Wi-Fi and charging points. In the past 12 months, we have invested heavily in new technology to provide customers with better information about their journey and an easier way of booking and paying for tickets. We believe this will help us attract even more people on to our buses and help the Welsh Government achieve its aims of improving traffic congestion and pollution”.