Life on the bae

First de Cymru (or South Wales in English) are another First subsiduary to have decided to go along the route of localised branding. Very similar to First Eastern Counties ‘Ipswich Reds’ and ‘Coastal Reds’, First South Wales have adopted the two-tone red livery which is reminiscent of the Western Welsh name which First acquired post-deregulation.

Services within the city boundary are branded as Swansea and the bay – Abertawe a’r bae, with the out-of-town routes being branded the Cymru Clippers. Other local identities include Bridgend & County – Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr a’r Sir; and Western Welsh has made a comeback – Gorllewin Cymru.

The new Swansea and the Bay name replaces the ‘Metro’ brand which local buses carried in differing colours as part of a coloured network. In true Welsh fashion, half of the bus is now written in English (the offside) with the nearside written in Welsh, giving the buses a truly local feel.

It’s not just all local services that have been given desirous appeal – the long distance services, the Cymru Clippers have been transformed from the Olympia-style purple livery into an elegant, light new brand which is infitting with the new corporate imagery.

Three Dennis Darts run around Swansea in very eye-catching designs – although not sure what their exact purpose is, they certainly attact attention as they saunter around the streets of this stunning city.

And last, but by no means least – no tourist-based city would be complete without an open-top tour. Service 1 operates from Swansea bus station to Bracelet Bay, passing through the city centre marina and the very popular Mumbles. The service is operated with two part open-top Volvo B7TL/Alexander ALX400s in a stylish cream and blue livery. A third Volvo is branded for the nearby Porthcawl tour in a similar livery, but in a teal base; with both tours being operated under the Cymru Coaster brand. Interestingly, the only Welsh wording on the exterior of these is the brand name, not surprising of course, considering that their target market is primarily tourists.