Adventure Travel first to serve Barry's bus interchange

From Monday, January 8, the B3 will stop at the location, near Barry Docks train station, on its route to Cadoxton from Barry and on its way back.

The service, which is funded by the council, will run seven times a day instead of eight which will improve reliability, helping it run on time.

The new service will go to Cadoxton (Image: Supplied)

Barry’s new £2.7m transport interchange has taken a lot of flack when it was revealed that when it opened, it had no bus services to serve it...

Mayor of Barry Ian Johnson described the interchange as “beautiful”, but asked: “where’s the buses?”

While Welsh Conservative shadow transport minister Natasha Asghar described the whole situation as “ridiculous”.

Even Barry Pleasure Park owner Henry Danter weighed in on the issue, saying he had a plan to bring buses to the interchange, just let him build his holiday camp...

In an impassioned message on Facebook, Vale leader Cllr Lis Burnett refused to apologise for the completion of the interchange, saying it had improved the area and would prove vital in the future.

The bus interchange previously served no bus routes (Image: Newsquest)

Now, a new service will start in January (Image: Newsquest)

The interchange, near the docks, has been derided for not serving buses (Image: Newsquest)

Barry Town Council leader Cllr Bronwen Brooks previously said the interchange would have a "huge impact" on public transport in the area, when the project began construction back in January.

Now, Cllr Brooks premonition might be coming true, although not at the pace she might have liked.

Cllr Brooks said of the new bus service: “At a difficult time for bus operators, due to declining usage and reducing Welsh Government funding, I’m pleased that we are able to provide this service from the Barry Dock Transport Interchange.

“The changes made to the timetable will increase service reliability, part of wider council work to improve this aspect of bus provision.

“We know a large number of residents depend on bus transport to travel around the county, which is why we want to provide a more useful, effective service.

“This should be of particular benefit to residents in Gibbonsdown, western and central Barry who will have a direct bus service into the interchange and is the latest development regarding that facility, with work continuing to further add to the services on offer.”