Two years on from its launch, the 1bws ticket covering all North Wales operators continues to make bus travel simpler, as RHODRI CLARK reports
When it suddenly appeared in 2021, the £5.70 day ticket valid on all 27 bus operators in North Wales was like a rabbit pulled from a magician’s hat. The ticket, named 1bws, was not limited to certain categories of people. There were no restrictions on the times of the day when it could be used. It covered almost 200 bus routes, the only significant exception being the Mold-Flint service 28 operated by Townlynx.
Transport planners and officers across much of Britain believe that the variety of bus operators makes such a ticket in their areas impractical without franchising or another means for local authorities to exert control. North Wales pulled off the feat against the odds. Bus deregulation still holds sway in the region, the Welsh Government having neglected to legislate for change when England and Scotland did so before the pandemic.
Further stacking the odds against 1bws was the fragmenting of local government in 1996, when Clwyd and Gwynedd county councils were replaced with six unitary authorities. The Taith regional transport consortium overcame som…
