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| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Leckwith,Cardiff (Cardiff Bus HQ) |
| Locale | Cardiff |
| Service area | Cardiff city centre Cardiff civic centre |
| Service type | Zero-FareBus |
| Hubs | Cardiff Central bus station |
| Operator | Cardiff Bus |
| Website | Free b website |
Free b (Welsh:Bws am ddimFree bus) was azero-fare shuttle bus that operated inCardiffcity centre,Wales. The route circled the edges of the city centre anti-clockwise. The service was operated byCardiff Bus.
The service commenced on 12 October 2009[1] as a response to the creation of a "bus box" in Cardiff city centre. This was formed from the diversion of the terminus of many of Cardiff Bus's services from the Central Bus Station to stops around the edges of the city centre. The shuttle service was introduced to connect these stops, as well as those of Cardiff's fourPark and Ride services.[2]
The three 28-seater buses in a yellow and black livery were introduced as part of a multimillion-pound joint council and Assembly Government-funded green initiative designed to encourage sustainable transport.[3]
Cardiff Council announced that because of low ridership, the Free b bus would be cancelled and replaced with an electric shuttle van.[4] Council-operated electric buggies were introduced in October 2010 in order to carry disabled and elderly passengers around the city centre.[5]
The Free b service followed a circular route that travels anti-clockwise around the city centre linking major bus and rail interchanges. The FreeB operated every 10 minutes until 20:00 on weekdays and until 18:00 on the weekend.[6]
The service had been criticised as not running until late enough and a lack of publicity.[7]
| Motorways and A roads | |
|---|---|
| Pedestrian precincts and commercial streets | |
| Bus | |
| Cycling | |
| Railway lines | |
| Railway operators | |
| Major railway stations | |
| Other city railway stations | |
| Air | |
| Water | |
| Proposed transport network |  South Wales Metro
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