The Cardiff Waterbus is a water bus service operated along the River Taff in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Services are operated by 4 separate companies: Cardiff Cats Ltd (operating as Cardiff Waterbus), Cardiff Cruises Ltd, Cardiff Boats Ltd, and Aquabus Water Transport Solutions Ltd, both for the leisure market and for commuters, but charter services are also offered. Boats running hourly during the day carry up to 100 passengers from Cardiff city centre to Penarth via Cardiff Bay,[1][2] forming a part of Cardiff's integrated transport system. The service started in April 2000.

Cardiff Waterbus
LocaleCardiff Bay and Cardiff City Centre
WaterwayRiver Taff
Transit typeWater bus
OperatorAquabus Water Transport Solutions Ltd
Cardiff Cats Ltd
No. of lines3
No. of vessels3 (Aquabus)
2 (Cardiff Cats)
No. of terminals10
WebsiteAquabus
Cardiff Cats
Cardiff Waterbus
Cardiff Castle
Taffs Mead
Clarence Embankment
Channel View
Barrage South
Sovereign Quay
Aquabus ↑
Cardiff Cats ↓
Mermaid Quay
Barrage South

The Cardiff Cats service has seen many celebrities as passengers, such as Emma Watson, Michelle Collins, Alison Steadman, and John Challis.[3]

Landing stages

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Landing stages are located at:[3]

Fleet

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  • Cardiff Cats Ltd – Princess Royal – Built in Portishead in 1959 and carries 100 passengers
  • Cardiff Cats Ltd – Cygnet (Now sold off)
  • Cardiff Cats Ltd – Sapphire (Now retired)
  • Aquabus Water Transport Solutions Ltd – Seren-Y-Bae
  • Aquabus Water Transport Solutions Ltd – Hydro 1
  • Aquabus Water Transport Solutions Ltd – Enterprise

Anniversary

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Water Bus Stops
Bute Park
Taff Mead

The Cardiff Waterbus (Cardiff Cats Ltd.) celebrated its 10-year anniversary in April 2010. The fleet has clocked up 50,000 miles since operating on the routes, carrying an estimated 1,000,000 passengers.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "The original Cardiff Waterbus". Cardiffwaterbus.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  2. ^ "AquaBus - Cardiff's Waterbus Service". Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
  3. ^ a b "News". www.cardiffcats.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  4. ^ "A decade of making waves for waterbus". Waleswonline.co.uk. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
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