Buses will no longer stop in an area of Swansea after 6pm until further notice after repeated vandalism, operator First Cymru has said. The move affects service 28 - which the provider has said will be diverted via Pentregethin Road and the normal day route, omitting the Swansea suburb.
First has apologised for the inconvenience to people in the area affected - Gendros - but said the move was necessary to protect the safety of drivers, customers, and its vehicles.
It is not the first time First has put such measures in place in Swansea. Elsewhere, in Gorseinon, it adopted the tactic twice at the area's bus station due to similar issues of vandalism causing safety concerns, which also involved an increase in police patrols. You can read more about that by clicking here. Get Swansea stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
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First wrote in a statement: "Due to several instances of vandalism, we will not be serving Gendros after 6pm until further notice. This change will impact the service 28. Services will be diverted via Pentregethin Road and the normal day route, omitting Gendros. We apologise for any inconvenience but we have made this decision to protect our drivers, our customers and our vehicles."
Gendros councillor Mike Durke said he felt that the service should not be disrupted due to the actions of a minority. He said: "We need an effective public transport system, that has to be the priority, an effective public transport system is everything. When issues arise, you work your way through them, but the needs of the public have to be the priority.
"Stopping services should never be an issue. People in Gendros and surrounding communities need services for work, education, hobbies, social lives, and depend on public transport. We always know when issues arise there's always a minority of people involved, and with a constructive approach, there's always actions that could be taken."
A further statement from First Cymru added: "The vandalism has taken a number of forms and First Cymru regrets having to take this action. However, the safety of customers and colleagues does have to remain the priority.
"The service does still operate after 6pm but will simply follow its daytime routing via Pentregethin Road rather than going though Gendros. Meanwhile, the company is working with the community and police to find a solution and hope to have the service resume as soon as possible."
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