Another delay for buses heading to Cardiff’s new bus station

Cardiff bus station closed in 2015 and services are spread across parts of the city. There were problems with the new bus interchange and the opening date of the new interchange had to be postponed.

Although the building appears almost complete, there is now a further delay in the start of services from the city’s central station. We reported in July that Transport for Wales, which has taken over management of the facility, expects the first services to use the crossing by the end of 2023. We therefore asked Transport for Wales for an update and were told there had been a further delay.

The original plan was for some buses to run to and from the bus station until the end of 2023 while renovation of the building continued, but after discussions with contractors and bus operators it was decided not to go ahead with this. A Transport Wales spokesperson confirmed the bus station will reopen fully in the spring, rather than in stages.

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The interchange will have 14 bus stops, several commercial establishments, public bathrooms and food points. Transport for Wales says it wants the bus and nearby Cardiff Central train station to be part of an “integrated transport network” that will offer better connections and more travel options for passengers. It promises: “The interchange will promote the use of public transport and provide seamless links to and from different modes of transport, including rail, walking and cycling, within the city and region.”

Speaking to a Senedd committee in November, the head of Transport for Wales, James Price, told Senedd members that there would be the same management team and staff between the central railway station and the bus interchange so that people could walk between them to access interconnected services. For the latest news on Welsh politics, sign up to our newsletter here.

Since the redevelopment of the site was first announced, there have been a series of problems, the actual project has been scrapped and completely redone, and the opening date has been postponed several times. When the original station closed in 2015, the new bus station’s opening date was 2017 and there was criticism of the plan’s priorities. Several different plans for the exchange have been put forward and scrapped over the past six years, but work finally began in December 2019.

In March 2020, plans were changed again when developers Rightacres submitted a new planning application with changes including an extension to the proposed office space above the station. In March 2023, Transport for Wales took over the interchange, saying: “Cardiff Bus Interchange is expected to be operational by the end of 2023 and fully operational in 2024.” You can read more about the saga here.