Tickets for the TaithCymru coach between Carmarthen and Bangor went on sale on Tuesday, with a promotional adult single for the full five-hour run priced at £10.
Transport for Wales is offering the cut fares until January 2027 to get people to try the service, which launches on Sunday 25 October with nine return trips a day run by Edwards Coaches and Llew Jones.
The other launch fares are £7 from Bangor to Aberystwyth, £4 from Holyhead to Bangor and £12.50 from Holyhead to Carmarthen, the leg covered by the one late-night coach a day that carries on to Holyhead station and port.
TfW has not published a promotional fare for Carmarthen to Aberystwyth or Aberaeron, the shorter hops most passengers from this end are likely to make. Those prices appear only when a journey is searched on its booking site.
Five hours end to end, and no bus passes
From Carmarthen railway station the coach calls at Aberaeron, Aberystwyth bus station, Aberystwyth University, Machynlleth, Dolgellau, Porthmadog and Caernarfon before Bangor station.
TfW puts the full journey at between four hours 45 minutes and five hours, which it says is up to an hour quicker than the current public transport options, with no change of vehicle.
Timetables have been built to connect with trains and local buses, and are on TfW’s website.
Because TaithCymru is a pre-booked long-distance coach with its own fares, concessionary bus passes are not accepted on it, TfW says. The TrawsCymru T1 bus, which the coach broadly follows between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth, does take them.
Book ahead, not on the door
Seats are booked at tfw.wales/taithcymru or through the support line on 03333 211 202. Bookings open on a rolling 14-day window and can be made up to 15 minutes before departure if seats are left.
Tickets cannot be bought from the driver.
The coaches are wheelchair accessible, with Wi-Fi, USB charging, air conditioning, toilets and luggage space, but TfW says the onboard toilets are not wheelchair accessible and not every stop is, Aberaeron among them.
Passengers who need assistance are asked to contact the support team at least 36 hours before travelling. Assistance dogs travel free.
Lee Robinson, TfW’s executive director for regional transport and integration, said: “TaithCymru gives customers a new, direct way to travel across Wales, with quicker journey times, comfortable coaches and fares designed to encourage people to give the service a try.”
He added: “Whether you’re travelling to university, for work, to see family and friends or for a day out, you can now book ahead and enjoy a simpler journey with fewer changes.”
The promotional fares run until early January, when TfW says a standard fare structure takes over. The Welsh Government’s £2m covers the service’s first year, with a decision on funding beyond that resting on demand.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
TAITHCYMRU: Nine coaches a day from Carmarthen to Bangor, one going on to Holyhead, and the operators want drivers
The operators, the stops and the driver recruitment.
TAITHCYMRU: The new coach linking Carmarthen and Bangor launches on 25 October
The launch date and the £2m first year.
CARMARTHEN: TfW wants the railway station to work better as a train-and-coach interchange
The survey on the station the coach starts from.
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