This rather arduous route was the closest Pontypridd had to a rural route, serving the small village of Penycoedcae. It was another of the services that had different fares for uphill and downhill journeys.
It had been introduced originally by Rhondda on a temporary licence. Pontypridd UDC objected and were granted a licence around 1932.
The service followed the simplest of routes out of Pontypridd, following High Street and Llantrisant Road to the terminus at the Queen’s Head. The original terminus had been a bit further, at the Hewitt’s Arms, but was cut back to the Queen’s Head except on Saturdays from 1951, with the Saturday service being similarly truncated three years later.
In the early 1980s there was an additional service operated from Penycoedcae to Beddau. In practice this was an extension of the service from Pontypridd but was presumably kept separate for licensing reasons. This Beddau link had but two journeys a day but even the main service had only eight or nine daily trips at this time.
© David Beilby
