Created 17-Jan-20
Modified 8-Mar-24
One of the most distinctive features of Rhondda Transport operation was the mass private hires to seaside resorts on a scale I don't believe was seen anywhere else. These would be planned by the many social clubs in the valleys and could involve up to fifty double-deck buses full of people wanting to enjoy a day at the seaside, an activity which no doubt took many forms according to age and gender.
Although these trips took place at weekends and principally on a Sunday, latterly Rhondda struggled to provide sufficient vehicles and an agreement was reached with Pontypridd UDC whereby they would provide up to seven vehicles and pictures of these doing this work can be seen in the Pontypridd/Taff-Ely gallery (although some of these will be on hire to Humphrey's of Pontypridd). Merthyr Tydfil Corporation also provided some vehicles at a later date.
As can be seen in the photographs, any available vehicle would be used for this work. This included single-deckers although in earlier days this may have been dictated by the presence of low bridges when running from locations like Gilfach Goch.
Rhondda soon learnt to put numbered stickers at the front of vehicles. Bus enthusiasts might remember the registration and be able to differentiate one type of bus from another but this wasn't the case for the general public and these stickers allowed them to identify their bus when returning at the end of the day.
These trips diminished in scale gradually due to increased car ownership and also changing tastes. Nonetheless, as can be seen in this gallery, they continued into the 1980s.
© David Beilby
