Capital City Green
 Capital City Green (Route 27)
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| Overview | |
| Vehicle | Scania CN270UB 4x2 EB OmniCity |
| Route | |
| Start | The Hayes |
| Via | Queen Street station, National Museum, Cathays station, Maindy, Birchgrove, Heath, Llanishen, Thornhill, Birchgrove, Heath, Blackweir, Cardiff Castle, Westgate Street |
| End | The Hayes |
| Length | 12.1 miles (19.4 km) |
| Service | |
| Frequency | 10-30 min. |
| Journey time | 57 min. |
Capital City Green is the branding of the bus service 27 Cardiff, operated by Cardiff Bus. The route runs from the city centre to the north of the city, serving the Maindy, Heath, Birchgrove and Thornhill districts.
The service forms part of the wider Cardiff Bus network and is one of three services to have a unique branding, along with Baycar and Capital City Red.
The upgraded service was introduced in 2007 when Cardiff Bus deployed on the route six out of 15 new Scania OmniCity vehicles which it had purchased at a cost of £2.5 million.[1]
History
Prior to the 1940s, Cardiff trams ran as far north as Gabalfa from the city centre.[2] The trams were replaced with Cardiff trolleybuses in the 1940s until the 1960s when the transition to motor buses began and was completed by 1970.[3] At the time, routes to areas in the west of Cardiff such as Caerau and Culverhouse Cross carried the number 27. Birchgrove and Llanishen were served by the 28(B) and Thornhill by the 29, which still exist today, running on a different routse the 27,[4] making the 27 a newer route.
Vehicles
The Scania OmniCity vehicles have their own red and green livery, are equipped with seats with leather headrests, air-conditioning, reserved spaces for buggies and wheelchairs, CCTV, on-bus screens with local travel information and BBC News 24 bulletins, hearing induction loop and next stop information. When introduced, the backs of six of the vehicles featured images and stories of regular commuters.[5]
Route
The 12.1 mile long route circles the city centre anti-clockwise before heading north past the Civic Centre and Cathays railway station, through Maindy, Heath, Birchgrove. It passes through Thornhill and Llanishen in a clockwise route and returns south to the city centre via Blackweir instead of Cathays.
Amongst the place served (from south to north) are:
- Cardiff Castle
- Millennium Stadium
- The Hayes
- Cardiff Central Library
- Cardiff International Arena
- Cardiff Queen Street railway station
- Capitol Centre
- Cathays Park (National Museum Cardiff)
- Cathays railway station
- Cardiff University
- Birchgrove railway station
- Thornhill Crematorium
During city centre closures on Friday and Saturday nights, the route does not circle the city centre, but instead operates directly between The Hayes and Queen Street Station, not stopping at Kingsway, Dumfries Place or Westgate Street.
Other services
Cardiff Bus services 21/23/24/25 follow the same route as the 27 between the city centre as Gabalfa where they then diverge to the north-west and west of the city. Routes 38 and 39 also share part of the route in Heath. In Thornhill and northern Llanishen, the 28 from the west Llanishen follows the same circle but in the opposite anticlockwise direction[6]
Many Stagecoach in South Wales services follow North Road on their routes to the South Wales Valleys and Hereford.[7]
See also
- Baycar
- Bus transport in Cardiff
- List of bus routes in Cardiff
- Transport in Cardiff
References
- ^ Transport Xtra Cardiff Bus unveils new £2.5m bus fleet
- ^ Gould, David (1996). Cardiff's Electric Tramways. Oxford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-487-3.
- ^ Lockwood, Stephen (2005). Cardiff Trolleybuses. Midhurst, West Sussex: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-904474-64-0.
- ^ Davies, Roger (2006). Streets of Cardiff. Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-3098-7.
- ^ Let's face it, this is the future of city's transport - South Wales Echo on Free Online Library
- ^ Cardiff Bus Overground
- ^ Stagecoach Cardiff map
External links
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