The City of Cardiff Council has been working with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to deliver significant changes in Cardiff’s Digital Infrastructure. Digital access has been improved for businesses, the public, visitors and now commuters, as part of the Super Connected Cardiff Programme.
The latest development will allow Cardiff commuters and visitors travelling on over 220 vehicles provided by Cardiff Bus and Easy Way Travel the opportunity to use free 4G WiFi. Implementation of this new free service will take place in stages, rolling out across the whole fleet over the next two months and the contract will be delivered by Icomera, which also involves improving passenger information.
The new initiative has been made possible due to funding received by Cardiff Council as part of its ‘Super Connected Cardiff’ initiative. In 2013, Cardiff Council secured over £10m of funding from the UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport, for the programme, which will see Cardiff’s internet connectivity greatly improved.
Gareth Stevens, Business Development Manager of Cardiff Bus, said: “We have been in discussions with Cardiff Council to install WiFi over the last few months and we are delighted to have now made this possible for our commuters.
“Given today’s digital and fast-paced society, installing free WiFi on our buses is a natural progression for us. It’s great to see that Cardiff is making steps to become better digitally connected, which will, no doubt, help the local economy.
“We consistently look for ways in which we can improve our services for our customers. Hopefully, this will make travelling by bus more attractive to travellers as they will be able to stay up to date with information and communicate with friends and colleagues over the internet, something they would be unable to do if driving.”
Asked why Icomera was chosen as the provider Gareth said: “The scheme is funded by DCMS / Cardiff Council and they were one of a number of suppliers who entered the procurement process, and from that exercise Icomera were successful.”
The Leader of the City of Cardiff Council, Councilor Phil Bale, said “The Council is committed to making public transport a more viable and attractive option and this latest development will complement this policy, by making travel by bus a more enjoyable experience.”
