The fflecsi bus service is a demand-responsive bus service administered by Transport for Wales (TfW) and local authorities, operated by local bus operators across Wales.
Normally the fflecsi service has replaced former timetabled services in rural areas. The idea being that passengers can have a more flexible means to make essential travel journeys at times more appropriate to their needs.
Passengers book and pay for journeys via an app (or telephone call), which then matches passengers travelling between similar points, calculating an ad hoc route to the destinations required within the route's service area. Payment is required and normally each area has a fixed fee although concessionary travel passes are accepted
Currently the service is provided in the following areas:-
In South Wales there a\re service based in Blaenau Gwent and Pembrokeshire
In Gwynedd - there is a service covering the Llŷn Peninsula and Lloyds Coaches have a fleet of four smartly fflecsi liveried Mercedes-Benz Sprinters that operate a service around Dolgellau and a separate service based at Machynlleth covering the Dyfi Valley
In the Conwy Valley - three smartly fflecsi liveried Sprinters operated by Alpine cover Llanrwst and the villages of Llangernyw, Dolwyddelan, Cwm Penmachno, Yspyty Ifan, Pentrefoelas and Cerrigydrudion.
In Denbighshire Llew Jones operates a fflecsi liveried Sprinter covering the immediate housing around the town. M and H Coaches operates a fflecsi liveried Sprinter which covers the area around Denbigh and Henllan. The Council themselves operate an all electric fflecsi liveried Sprinter that covers Ruthin and some of the nearby villages. They also operate a wheelchair-accessible Nissan Dynamo E-NV200 EV micro electric vehicle which operates around Denbigh and covers such villages as Tremeichion, Llanefydd, Prion, Nantglyn and Peniel. This latter vehicle also supplements the Henllan area when required.
In Flintshire the first fflecsi service is based on Holywell and operates around a number of the outlying villages to the town. It replaced a number of timetables services running from Holywell . Until recently it was operated by P and O Lloyd using one of the Flintshire Council liveried 16 seater buses. The most recent fflecsi service in this county covers the Buckley, Penyffordd, Kinnerton and Broughton area and replaced various timetabled services including the Buckley Town service and those passing through Kinnerton and Penyffordd. This service was until recently was operated by Wrexham Taxis and used two Flintshire Council liveried 16 seater buses.
The four vehicles purchased by Flintshire Council which carried a recognisable Flintshire Council livery and were used on the fflecsi services have now been sold through the Queensferry Auction. They have not been replaced. These were :-
FP18FEV and FP18FFN Mercedes Benz 516CDI
MX18AVR and MX18AWJ Peugeot Boxer 440
From 1st July the Flintshire fflecsi area services have passed to R Williams Services Limited of Flint. There is now only one vehicle working the Buckley service. Both of the vehicles now working in Flintshire, one based in Holywell and the other Buckley, are 8 seater minibuses and currently have no special livery or any indications on the exterior of the vehicles to indicate the nature of the service they are working.
Holywell fflecsi operated by R Williams - 1 August 2024
The question has to be posed - will the lack of any livery / indication on the vehicles failing to show that they are part of the fflecsi lead to further reductions in the service. This essential passenger facility for the rural areas is essential but for some reason there is very little effective marketing of the service undertaken. Is this a deliberate policy to further reduce the demand for the service leading to its withdrawal.
Some of the examples of other vehicles used in other areas.
Conwy Valley (Alpine)
Ruthin (Denbighshire County Council) - full electric
Denbigh (Denbighshire County Council ) fully electric
Denbigh and Henllan (M and H Coaches)