Newport Bus Blog

Newport Bus were delighted to have a visit from the nephew of one of our former colleagues Rifleman Edward James Bailey, who fell during WWI near Ypres.

Mr and Mrs Woodman who left Newport over 40 years ago, visited the city to see one of the buses we have dedicated to Mr Woodman's uncle Edward James Bailey. Newport Bus currently have six buses within the fleet with graphics and names in the memory of the brave souls who fell during WWI, and who had worked for Newport Transport before their deployment.

Below are some of the pictures captured by staff during the visit, which included Mr and Mrs Woodman having a tour of the city in the very same bus dedicated to Mr Woodman's uncle .... registration YN53 GGY, and a visit to our bus depot offices to view the memorial wall plaque. Newport Transport also presented Mr Woodman with a wooden, period double decker bus model.

We would like to say a big thank you to Mr and Mrs Woodman for visiting us, and refreshing our memories of times bygone and reminding us all of the sacrifice made by the people of Newport.

Newport Transport Bus Passengers can enjoy superfast connectivity on their bus journey with free Wi-Fi from the 1st of April. This comes as part of the Superconnected Cities programme, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport will fund the three year contract, with Newport Transport funding the fourth year of the programme.

Councillor Bob Bright said:

'Having superfast broadband readily available in our city is vital to not only increasing productivity but to stimulate econimic growth'.

'In addition to making travel more productive, Wi-Fi access will make any commute more fun too, with access to social networks, online games and entertainment'.

'The next stage of our superfast broadband journey is to have Wi-Fi publically and freely available on public transport and I welcome the news that this will be available on Newport Transport buses.'

Newport Transport Limited are very proud to have been one of the main sponsors for a new plaque to be commissioned and placed on the bank of the River Usk, Newport - to commemorate the lives of the men of the Monmouthshire Regiment (Territorial Force), who took part in the defence of the Frezenberg Ridge, during the Second Battle of Ypres, Belgium, during the early stages of World War 1.

At this battle, (during which the German Army used poison gas for the first time on the Western Front), the three battalions of the Monmouthshire Regiment, held the line. The Monmouthshire's heroic stand on the 8th May 1915, against great odds, helped prevent the Belgian city of Ypres, from falling into enemy hands, and the German Army advancing to capture the vital English Channel ports.

The Second Battle of Ypres lasted from 22nd of April to 25th May 1915, and as result of the conflict, 526 men of the Monmouthshire Regiment were killed or died of wounds, and 799 were wounded.

More than 80 Newport men were lost on the first day of the Frezenberg Ridge engagement alone.

"Look Up And Swear By The Green Of The Spring, That You'll Never Forget". Siegfried Sassoon 1919.

You can see the memorial yourself, by going to the River Usk Walk, near to the western side of the new Southern Distributor Road. When you visit, why not lay some flowers, in recognition of the sacrifice made by the men of Newport - so that we may live in a free and just society.

Newport Bus are very pleased to be using a large array of solar panels on the roof of our bus depot in Corporation road, Newport - to help offset our carbon footprint, generate electricity for our workshops and offices, and provide energy back to the National Grid which we are paid for, reducing our overheads further.

This image taken in February 2015 by our web development agency Dezines Internet Solutions Limited - clearly shows the size of our solar panel bank, positioned on the south facing section of the workshop roof.

We will be adding scientific data to this blog entry in due course, to evidence the electricity our panels generate.