VALE of Glamorgan Council has said it has another bus set to service Barry Transport Interchange amid claims hardly anyone is using the multi-million pound facility.
A bus service officially started serving the transport hub, next to Barry Docks railway station, from January 2024 - although phase one of the hub was completed in summer 2023.
However, a number of residents, a travel blogger, and the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) have noticed the facility to be almost deserted at times.
Travel blogger, Roger French, said on his website, Bus and Train User, that there were no other passengers using the B3 Adventure Travel service when he used it at the end of January.
The hub consists of secure bike parking, four bus shelters, and a taxi rank.
Landscaping work has also been done in the middle of the site and new segregated cycle paths link the site to the Ffordd Y Milleniwm route.
When the LDRS went to report on the first day of the B3’s operation at Barry Transport Interchange on January 8, one passenger got on the bus that left the hub at 11.13am.
Other residents have commented on social media that the hub is “not being used” and labelled it “expensive” and “unnecessary”.
Read more on Barry's transport interchange
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- Henry Danter's plan for buses at Barry's bus interchange
A Vale of Glamorgan Council spokesperson said: “The Barry Transport Interchange is a long-term project that will develop over time as more services and facilities are added.
“A new bus service began using the Interchange from January, with another, operating between Barry and Penarth, set to join it in April.
“Transport for Wales also plan to increase the number of trains stopping at the location.”
The new service at the hub will be Adventure Travel service number 88, which will start operating from April 2, according to the bus company.
The cost of developing the transport hub in 2023 was £2,696,108 in total.
A freedom of information request to Vale of Glamorgan Council shows that construction cost £1,682,224.20 and the design, project management and supervision of the scheme cost £1,013,884.37.
The scheme, partly funded by the Welsh Government and Cardiff Capital Region, could include a café and cycle hub in the future.
What do you think about Barry's bus interchange? Good for Barry's future, or a waste of money? Let us know, emailing harry.jamshidian@newsquest.co.uk.
Got a story in Barry, email harry.jamshidian@newsquest.co.uk.
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