Swansea MS meets First Bus to discuss future of city’s transport network
South Wales West MS Tom Giffard has met with FirstGroup representatives at the Senedd to discuss the future of Swansea’s bus services, including plans for electrification, franchising, and the impact of recent strikes.
The meeting comes as First Bus rolls out a £350 million national investment to electrify its fleet, converting diesel vehicles to electric and introducing new carbon‑neutral buses across Wales.
“Reliable, timely public transport”
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Giffard said he welcomed First Bus’s commitment to improving services:
“It was great to meet some of the team from First Bus to talk through their commitment to helping provide a timely, reliable public transport system, as well as their huge investment into a fleet of brand‑new carbon‑neutral buses across Wales, many of which will be coming to Swansea soon.
“I sincerely hope the Welsh Government engage with First Bus to enable them to help build the services people across Swansea deserve.”
He also raised concerns about the impact of the default 20mph speed limit on bus routes and journey times, calling for greater investment in roads and junction upgrades along the M4 at Ynysforgan and Penllergaer.
On social media, Mr Giffard shared a light‑hearted post after trying out one of the new buses himself:
“Good to get behind the wheel of a new First bus coming to a Swansea street near you very soon. But don’t worry, hopefully the drivers won’t still be on strike by then, so I won’t be the one behind the wheel!”
First Cymru: Net zero ambitions
Rob Pymm, Commercial Director for First Bus in Cymru, said the company was pleased to hear Mr Giffard’s support for their net zero ambitions.
“We were pleased to meet Tom Giffard MS this week and hear he is supporting our moves to a net zero fleet with £350million invested so far nationally to electrify our depots and buses.
“The arrival of electric buses in Swansea will depend on franchise plans by Transport for Wales (TfW) and Welsh Government, and we’ll continue to work closely with TfW to lend our expertise in this area to help ensure our net‑zero ambitions arrive in the country. We already operate eight electric TrawsCymru buses on the growing T1 service as part of our partnership with TfW.”
Looking ahead
While the timeline for electric buses in Swansea will depend on Welsh Government franchising decisions, both First Cymru and Mr Giffard emphasised the importance of building a transport system that is affordable, reliable and sustainable.
Mr Giffard said he would continue to advocate for improvements and invited Swansea residents to share feedback on issues they want raised.
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