Bus travel across Swansea will be free on 19 days this Christmas, running all the way to New Year’s Eve. It all starts on Christmas Parade weekend.
The first free days are Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November. On the Sunday, Santa leads the parade from the Guildhall to Princess Way from 5pm, before switching on the city centre lights.
Free journeys normally have to start before 7pm. On parade Sunday the cut-off moves to 9pm for people heading in for the parade, when the council expects tens of thousands in the city centre.
After that, the free bus days fall on every weekend in the countdown to Christmas, then daily from 21 December to Christmas Eve and from 27 December to New Year’s Eve. The full list:
- Saturday 21 November
- Sunday 22 November (journeys must start before 9pm)
- Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November
- Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December
- Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December
- Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December
- Monday 21 to Thursday 24 December
- Sunday 27 to Thursday 31 December
Timetables may change over Christmas, Swansea Council says. Check times with the bus operators before setting out.
Start and finish in Swansea, or pay the whole fare
Only journeys that start and finish inside the county are free, but anyone can use them and there is no need to prove you live in Swansea. The free area runs out to the boundary stops at Loughor (Ship and Castle), Pontarddulais railway station, Garnswllt, Clydach (Coed Gwilym Cemetery), Lonlas (Bowen Arms) and Port Tennant (Bevans Row).
A bus heading out of the county is still free if you tell the driver you are getting off in Swansea. Ride on past the boundary, from Swansea Bus Station to the Bay Campus for example, and you pay the full fare for the whole journey, with a day ticket normally the cheapest option, the council says.
First Cymru, Adventure Travel and DANSA buses free, National Express and FlixBus not
Buses run by First Cymru are included, apart from services 51 and 52 to and from the park and ride car parks. Adventure Travel services are covered too.
So are South Wales Transport and DANSA buses. National Express and FlixBus coaches are not part of the offer.
Season ticket holders do not need to show their tickets on free days, but there are no refunds or extensions. All Wales Concessionary Travel Pass holders travel free as normal and show their pass as usual.
Up to £20 saved on a family trip, says Cllr Rebecca Fogarty
Cllr Rebecca Fogarty, cabinet member for community support, put a figure on it. “Christmas can be an expensive time for everyone and a single family trip on free bus weekends can save them up to £20 in travel costs,” she said.
She said the offer was not just about bringing people into the city centre, although the council does want businesses to benefit. “This is also about giving the public the chance to travel all across Swansea, whether it’s to visit family members or just enjoy what Swansea has to offer,” she said.
131,000 free journeys last year, and three more free days this Christmas
Council leader Cllr Rob Stewart said more than 131,000 free journeys were made last year, which “just shows how important the service is”. Calling this the sixth year in a row for the offer, he said: “Swansea is the only council in Wales to offer this opportunity to take the bus and save money in the countdown to Christmas.”
Last year, free travel on parade weekend was only confirmed once Unite paused its First Cymru drivers’ strike. The next free day was not until 6 December, making 16 in all against 19 this year.
The council, which pays for the free travel, set aside £450,000 in this year’s budget to keep it going through the summer and Christmas holidays. The summer holidays brought 13 free days, every weekend from late July.
Free buses part of Swansea’s winter help with food and warm spaces
Cllr Fogarty said the buses would sit alongside other help for those most in need, with the council “working on initiatives that will include food support, activities, events and welcoming spaces to help residents this winter”. Last winter’s package funded 62 Swansea Spaces and grants for food banks and community cafés.
Cllr Stewart called free buses for the parade “a brilliant early festive present for local families on what will be a great curtain-raiser for the countdown”. He said the event draws people “from across South and West Wales” and is “an important boost to city centre shops, cafes and other businesses at a vital time of year for them”.
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