South Wales' FRF business has won the Toyota Best Retailer in Town Group award. Their Swansea dealership also collected the award for new vehicle sales in 2023. This is the 10th year of the Toyota BRIT awards which recognise the top-performing Toyota centres in the UK. FRF Group, winner of the Best Toyota Group award, is a family business that has operated in South Wales for more than 20 … [Read more...]
Welsh dealers sweep up KIA retail awards
Welsh dealers with the Kia franchise cleaned up in the brand's retail awards for 2023. For the third consecutive year, Gravells Kia Bridgend was awarded the prestigious ‘Dealer of the Year’ title and Jonathan Gravell (below left) received the trophy from Paul Philpott, President and CEO of Kia UK Limited in the dealer convention in Liverpool. An exceptional hattrick result was achieved by the … [Read more...]
Crash, bang, wallop – it’s National Pothole Day
To mark National Pothole Day, Go.Compare Car Insurance can reveal the top ten counties in England and Wales whose roads are most peppered with potholes today. Topping the peak pothole list was Derbyshire County Council, which reported 215,787 potholes over three years between January 2020 and December 2022. Two more northern counties took the 2nd and 3rd place spots, with Durham and Lancashire … [Read more...]
Every little helps for Wales ev drivers
Wales' capital city of Cardiff does not figure in the top 100 UK centres providing electric charging points for motorists. The Welsh cities with the most chargers from nationwide research by business services provider Direct365 were Newport, placed 33 overall with 0.2% of the total in Britain, and Swansea came in 58th with 0.1%. Cardiff fell out of the top 100 rankings and Tesco was the store … [Read more...]
Swansea is among cheapest in UK for residents parking
Residents in Swansea have Britain’s cheapest parking outside their homes - it’s free! Only Leeds can match them with nothing charged for residents’ parking permits but Cardiff charges £24 while Newport comes close with a £37 annual fee, but it’s also among the worst in Britain for obtaining a permit. By contrast, the City of London charges residents a hefty £1,543 annually to park outside their … [Read more...]
Cardiff Bus axing routes on eve of 20mph speed limit
Cardiff Bus services are drastically changing from early next month. The operator says funding has been cut by Welsh Government and only 80% of passengers are now using buses compared to before the pandemics, so it has to make savings. It comes as an embarrassment for Welsh Government which will be introducing a nationwide 20mph speed limit on 17 September and wanted to get motorists out of cars … [Read more...]
Newport residents worst off for permits
Car owners in Newport, Gwent are among the worst in Britain having difficulties obtaining parking permits. The city is in the top five worst residential parking areas in Britain and drivers in Manchester, most of London and Scottish cities and towns are more successful parking outside their homes. Chester and Cheshire are Britain’s worst councils giving out parking permits, followed by … [Read more...]
On-screen guide to Welsh stations
Augmented reality maps of six of Transport for Wales’ biggest stations have been created to help passengers feel more confident when using the rail network. It is hoped the AR maps can be used to assist passengers visiting a station for the first time or people with mobility issues. The interactive walk-through maps can be used to locate key areas in the stations including customer information … [Read more...]
Welsh learner drivers are best in Britain, say Veygo
Welsh driving-test pass rates beat UK national average, but there are concerns over driving test changes. Veygo, part of the Admiral Insurance group based in Cardiff, showed Park Avenue Test Centre in Aberystwyth, is the top place to take your driving test, with 65% now passing their test at the centre. This marks the highest pass rate on record for the centre. With only 35% of all learners … [Read more...]
Hospitals are the sick patients in Welsh EV drive
Wales' decarbonisation agenda is looking unhealthy in the nation's hospitals. Information acquired by the Welsh Conservatives show there are only 55 electric vehicle charging points at hospitals in Wales, despite Labour ministers’ decarbonisation agenda. And some of those may not be working. The figures, acquired via a written question by Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS, showed that … [Read more...]