Cwmbach - Then and Now

I still haven't finished working on the second half of my analysis of bus services within the Cynon Valley. I know it's taking ages, but every time I start making progress the companies change their timetables again.

The most recent changes I heard about only a couple of weeks ago. It appears that services after the evening 'rush hour' (or what passes for rush hour in the Valleys, anyway) have been drastically curtailed. I'm reliably informed that after 6 p.m. you'll be unable to catch a bus to Llwydcoed, Cwmbach or Cwmdare. That puts these outlying districts on a par with Penderyn, Rhigos, Abernant, Perthcelyn and Cefnpennar, with no services at all on Sundays either.

It's always baffled me why there's such a rapid drop in services after 6 p.m and at weekends. Logic would suggest that there'd be more demand for public transport, not less. After you get home from work, it's nice to go out for a couple of pints in the evening. Young people, too, are involved in all sorts of activities – sports teams, scouts and guides, musical groups, youth clubs, and so forth – which obviously have to take place after school finishes. At weekends, when your time is your own, the roads should be full of buses enabling people to travel freely and spend the day doing whatever they feel like doing. Instead, these same people are either stuck at home, or forced into expensive and unreliable taxis.

A number of years ago I was involved with one youth music organisation run by some friends of mine. We met twice a week, after school, in a building some distance from the centre of Aberdare. The youngsters came from all over the area, and Glyn spent pretty much the whole evening ferrying them to rehearsals and taking them home afterwards. Some of the older ones came by bus, but even then they had to leave the rehearsals dead on time, otherwise they'd be stranded for an hour (or more.)

Looking through archive editions of the Aberdare Leader online, it's refreshing to learn that the situation is far from being a new one. Have a look at this reader's letter from 4 October 1913, commenting on the new tram system serving the area:

CWMBACH AND ITS CLAIMS.

Sir,—
Now that the Tramway System is an accomplished fact, it is only fair and just that the inhabitants of the unlucky village of Cwmbach should have just a little consideration by the District Council. The trams in one of two forms have been arranged to run to almost all parts of the Council's area with the exception of Cwmbach. When any unbiassed person makes a comparison between the amount of rates paid by Cwmbach and, say Abernant or Abercwmboi, he will plainly see that, Cwmbach has been left in the lurch. In return for the amount of rates paid, what has Cwmbach benefitted? Some are prepared to say that the Council has erected some dwellings named Cerdinen Terrace. So they have, but this is not an universal benefit to the village. Why can not the Council extend their rail-less system to Cwmbach? Surely it cannot be the want of power. How much more power would be required to drive a car to Cwmbach than to Cwmaman or Abernant. Again, it cannot be the width of the road. If the Council had a mind to run the trams here, there are plenty of facilities for widening the road. The brake system which prevails between Aberdare and Cwmbach is most unsatisfactory. Surely something ought to be done in return for the large amount of taxes, etc., paid. Is it not possible to lay our claims before the Council, in order that a little justice may be meted out to us? Of course, the Halt, and the much talked of Bridge are things to come. We must be patient, as we have been. Could it not be arranged to have a strong meeting of the inhabitants of Cwmbach, say at our Workmen's Hall, and invite a number of our District Councillors, so that they can have their say on the matter? Undoubtedly this would be a wise course to pursue. Now, would it be too much to ask our two Councillors to give their hearty support to convene such a meeting?
—I remain, yours, etc., RATEPAYER.