If my guesses about how the new timetable will look are correct, it looks as if improvments have been made to address the worst aspects of the current service but at the cost of some of the best aspects of the current service.
I guess it's just a matter of demand? Despite smaller population there are more NQ to Aberaeron/Aberystwyth journeys than Cardigan to Aber as that's the pattern of commuting. Cardigan people can live and work and shop in Cardigan but maybe New Quay people don't have that luxury? Plus, the holiday season swells the population of the Synod-NQ-Llanarth loop to the size of 2 Cardigans.
I know that area's touristy, but doubling of the population seems a bit unlikely to me. If that really is the case maybe there should be an extra hourly service in summer.
If Cardigan was closer to Aberystwyth then you'd definitely be right but I think it's distance that limits the demand - there just aren't that many people that do an 80 mile round trip on a daily basis.
I can't argue with that. However, see the following:
wouldn't a good compromise be direct cardigan to Aber services via NQ?
In terms of local services I think you're right, but remember the title of this topic. TrawsCambria/Cymru is/was supposed to be a long-distance bus network. It has to play at being the local bus service as well, but I think that routes which are purely local services should be kept out of the Traws network. You probably don't get loads of passengers doing Carmarthen - Aberystwyth on a daily basis either, yes they are bigger but that's why there's an hourly service between them, rather than 2-hourly.
I do think New Quay should have a more frequent northbound service than Cardigan, partly because of the tourist population, but I consider New Quay's to be a 'local bus service' not a 'TrawsCambria/TrawsCymru service'. Therefore, does it really need alot of long-distance services or would more-frequent short-distance feeders into long-distance direct services do the job?
I know it adds 10 mins or so to the time
31 minutes actually... I think a 550 service via Penparc Estate, Aberporth and New Quay would take about 1hr 53mins, direct X50 services take 1hr 22mins.
compared with the current arrangements, you save half that by not having to change bus at Aberaeron.
I consider that connections at Aberaeron should be 7 minutes. 31-7 = 24 minutes addition to journey time if you get rid of the change and instead go via New Quay and Aberporth.
Anyway, I'm going to shut up now until we know what the new services are.
That sounds wise. I should probably do the same but can't promise that I will. I am just a bit shocked to discover that the long-standing 6:15pm express from Aberystwyth, which I used last night, looks like being no more in future, and concerned that the TrawsCyrmu brand will become tainted by including a slow indirect route from Aberystwyth.
However, I have been speculating further, for example adding 31mins to the 7:37pm arrival in Cardigan gives 8:08. Subtract 5 from that (given the five minutes earlier start time) and you're pretty close to on the hour. Assuming that runs all day, it would be close to the 412 departure times. Perhaps 412, 50, X50 and 550 are about to disapear and become T5. That would be one hell of a slow route to get from Haverfordwest to Aberystwyth.
