The bus operator which caused a Twitter storm last spring with its risqué adverts is launching a second commercial service in Cardiff this week which will exploit bus lanes installed by the city council for a park and ride service.
New Adventure Travel quickly removed the ‘Ride me all day for £3’ adverts from its cross-city X1 buses after complaints of sexism when the route was launched in May. The adverts depicted young women and men holding a board which bore the slogan. The negative publicity raised the service’s profile, and passenger numbers have exceeded the operator’s expectations.
In response to the X1’s success and to feedback from city residents, NAT is this week launching an X11 service from the suburbs of Pentwyn, Cyncoed and Llanedeyrn into the city centre via Newport Road, home to out-of-town shopping and fast-food developments. Council-owned Cardiff Bus does not provide a direct service between those suburbs and shops, requiring passengers to detour via the city centre.
NAT managing director Kevyn Jones claimed the X11 would also provide faster journeys than Cardiff Bus from those suburbs to the city centre. ‘There’s a bus lane pretty much all the way from where the X11 leaves Llanedeyrn into the city centre. It was put in mainly for the park and ride at Cardiff East [in Pentwyn].
‘We expect quite a lot of commuters to catch the X11. We offer a very attractive weekly ticket.’ The £3 day ticket which was at the centre of the furore in May is also valid on the X11.
