The 30's to the 80's
Sloper Road Bus Depot was opened in 1930, and following the subsequent closure of our depots at Clare Road (Grangetown) in 1953 and Newport Road (Roath) in 1986, it has been considerably enlarged and provided with the most up to date facilities for the day to day operation of the bus fleet.
This is where I have spent the biggest part of my working life. When I started you were either a 'Sloper' or 'Roath' driver. As my father worked in Sloper Rd it seemed natural to go there anyway. Even after the closure of Roath depot for many years the drivers from either depot tended to sit in different parts of the canteen and there was always a lot of friendly rivalry between the two groups. (And not so friendly on occasions).
The trolley bus service
The first trolleybuses operated in the City on 1 March 1942 between Wood Street and Clarence Road, their introduction having been delayed by the outbreak of World War Two. The intention was to convert the remaining tramway system to trolleybus operation, then extend the network to include Ely, Fairwater, Llandaff, Rhiwbina, Llanishen, Cyncoed, Rumney and Tremorfa.
The first stage was completed when the last tram operated on 20 February 1950 on the Whitchurch Road route when trolleybuses had taken over a large part of the tramway network. After this date, however, the only extension to the system was to Ely which took place on 8 May 1955. Although powers had been obtained to considerably expand the network, a volte face occured in 1961 when a decision was made to replace all the trolleybuses with motorbuses, the task being completed on 11 January 1970 when the last trolleybus ran between Green Farm Road and Roath Depot, bringing to an end 68 years of electric traction on the streets of Cardiff.
Into the seventies and eighties
These two decades saw the introduction of many important changes. In 1972 the traditional Cardiff crimson and cream livery gave way after 70 years to the orange and white. The present livery of Burges blue and cream was introduced in 1999. The first midibuses were introduced in 1974 although it was not until 1987 that midibus operation really developed - with the first of the "Clipper" buses. Although the first "driver only" buses operated in May 1923, the general conversion to one person operation commenced in the early seventies and was gradually extended to all our services by 1980 with the Snowden Road service being the last one to lose its conductors. The City Centre bus lanes were first introduced in the mid-seventies and are now even more important as traffic congestion worsens. The very popular Cardiff Multiride Ticket was first introduced in 1974 and has gone from strength to strength ever since, with Multiride facilities now also available for regular travellers on our Caerphilly, Newport, Barry and the rural Vale services.
The pictures on this page show three completely different parts of Cardiff Transport. The Crossley at the top was made in 1949 the year after I was born, and I never drove any of them as they had gone by the time I joined. The trolley buses were used on the routes close to my home as a young man and I uses to use them a lot back and for to town and work. The coach I in fact drove many times as it was used a lot on the Penarth routes that I drove years ago.
