South Wales: A National Bus Company

A fascinating pictorial history of South Wales Transport buses and services during the 1970s and early 1980s.

South Wales Transport, as a National Bus Company, served a large and diverse area of South West Wales, from Port Talbot in the east, throughout the industrial Swansea Valley and City, and out across rural West Wales to the remote Pembrokeshire coast. It had grown following National Bus Company’s acquisition of BET/THC bus companies in South Wales. With the resulting overlapping areas of services, NBC reorganised its operations and from January 1971 South Wales Transport took control of United Welsh Services, Thomas Brothers (Port Talbot) and Neath & Cardiff Luxury Coaches. In 1972 Western Welsh services from Neath and Haverfordwest were also transferred to South Wales Transport, leaving Western Welsh only operating to the east of South Wales Transport. Following these four acquisitions, a wide-ranging fleet was created, a rich mix of BTC and BET vehicles, an early user of minibuses, along with inter-urban joint coach services and the well-known AEC Regents, including the short version for Gower services.

Michael Hitchen takes a fascinating pictorial journey back to the 1970s and early 1980s when De Cymru poppy red buses could still be seen climbing steeply up to Townhill from the centre of Swansea, through the industrial Lower Swansea Valley and to the far distant rural lanes around Haverfordwest.