MALCOLM COWTAN meets the directors of a north Wales operator that has been trading for 108 years, has an unusual share structure and shares operation of its main route with a neighbour
The village of Trefor nestles on the north coast of the Llyn peninsula halfway between Caernarfon and Pwllheli, north Wales. The three mountains called Yr Eifl in Welsh (The Forks or The Strides in English, often incorrectly translated phonetically as The Rival) towers above the village, and the mountains’ granite was quarried until relatively recently, providing local employment.
With a population barely over 800, the village boasts a shop – but also, improbably, two sizeable bus companies, Clynnog & Trefor with an allocation of 50 discs and currently 60 employees, and Berwyn Coaches with around 30 vehicles. The Llyn has always been provided abundantly with bus and coach operators. In addition to these companies in Trefor, there are also Caelloi in Pwllheli, Nefyn Coaches in the village of that name and Arriva Cymru has an outstation at Pwllheli. The erstwhile Express Motors’ large fleet was based at nearby Penygroes until the end of 2017.
The local area provides only a limited amount of work. Its towns are small b…
