People living in three villages said they had been forced to miss work and hospital appointments due to bus cancellations
Heol Goch has been closed since Thursday, July 30(Image: John Myers)
Residents living on the outskirts of Cardiff said they feel “isolated” and “forgotten about” after serious flooding caused by a quarry blast left them without any public transport.
People who rely on bus services in Gwaelod-y-Garth, Pentyrch and Creigau said they have missed work and hospital appointments as a result of the issue. Since last Thursday [July 30] Heol Goch has remained closed as a clear-up operation and investigation into the devastating incident, which left homes ruined, continues.
The road is a key route connecting the three villages and is usually served by the 136 and 63 Cardiff Bus services. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here.
However, since the road has been shut the buses have been terminating before they reach the villages. The 63 has only been operating as far as Pugh’s garden centre, while the 136 has been going to the Coryton Village Hotel.
While locals in Gwaelod-y-Garth are able travel into town by train from Taff’s Well, those in Pentyrch and Creigau have been cut off by public transport.
One woman, who lives in Pentyrch and works in retail in the city centre, said she uses the popular service most days and has been missing out on earnings because she can’t travel into the centre for work.
The single mother said: “We have no alternatives. I can’t walk out of the village because Heol Goch is not safe for pedestrians and the other routes are 60mph lanes with no pavements.
“It’s isolating. It feels like we’ve been forgotten about. I can’t get to work, hospital appointments. We’ve got a doctor’s surgery in the village but it’s only open three days a week so if you need emergency appointments you have to wait for that because you can’t get to the other surgery which is Llandaff.
“You can’t see anyone or do anything. It feels like lockdown all over again. I’m also losing money because I can’t go to work.”
She said she was also worried about the impact it would be having on elderly people who rely on the services. She continued: “I was speaking to one of them a couple of weeks ago and he said he was popping into town for no reason but simply to get out the house.
“Now he doesn’t have that aspect, my elderly neighbour goes to Whitchurch every day just to get out and about so it’s taken their freedom and independence away from them. We are so close to the centre but it just feels like we’ve been forgotten about.
“I don’t drive and I can’t ask my neighbours twice a day to take me the long way around just to get a bus because they’ve got their own lives, kids and jobs. I’ve got hospital appointments coming up which means I’ll need to get a taxi and they are hard to come by up here as well.”
She also said she pays around £60 for her monthly bus pass and was worried about missing out on a week’s worth of tickets which she had already paid for. However, Cardiff Bus has confirmed they have been reimbursing tickets already purchased to affected customers.
Councillor Rhys Livesy, who represents Pentyrch and St Fagans, said residents in Gwaelod-y-Garth had lost a bus service a couple of years ago meaning the latest temporary suspension has left bus users feeling extremely isolated.
Cllr Livesy said that if the Heol Goch closure continues he would like to see one of the half hourly services to Radyr diverted up to Llantrisant Road and onto Pentyrch. He said that although this would mean Radyr would see less regular services, more people would be able to be served.
He added that everything would hinge on the assessment of ground stability above the still-closed Heol Goch and said ideally the road would be able to reopen soon.
Cardiff Bus and Cardiff Council are yet to confirm when Heol Goch will reopen and whether any of the buses will be re-routed in the meantime.
