By Meghan O’Neil

Most, if not all, students at Cardiff University will have at some point been to the highly popular Student’s Union, whether it be to visit the fresher’s fair, have a Sunday Roast at The Taf or attend YOLO on a Wednesday night.

The Student Union has created a safe place for students to have a night out, which is Y Plas, the multi-purpose venue for daytime social learning and nighttime entertainment.

However, between December 2024 and December 2025 the Police were called 110 times to the Student Union, which included 75 requests for the Safety Bus to attend to deal with any intoxicated, lone or vulnerable people.

The Cardiff Safety Buses “patrol the city centre on Wednesday nights during academic semesters, and on Friday and Saturday nights year-round.”

The Safety buses are staffed by officers and volunteers that will help anyone that finds themselves in a vulnerable position and will take them to their homes or a place of safety.

Unsurprisingly Wednesday nights are the busiest night for the Safety Bus, resulting most likely from the huge numbers of students out for Wednesday night sports socials.

The most common reasons for police call outs to the SU are Violence, Theft and Anti-social behaviour, with there being 14 recorded incidents of violence.

There have been six arrests made from December 2024 to December 2025 as the result of police call outs to the student union.

The busiest months during 2025 for police call outs to the Student Union were February, March, September and October aligning with arguably the busier times in the student calendar, Freshers and Refreshers.

When asked for a statement on this matter a Students’ Union spokesperson replied with “Cardiff Students’ Union is one of the busiest student venues in the UK, welcoming thousands of students through its doors every day and recording over 100,000 attendances at YOLO club nights alone across the year.

The figures referenced represent a very small proportion of calls per activity and attendance.”

“We invest heavily in preventative measures, including paramedics during club nights, trained staff and door teams and ongoing campaigns promoting responsible drinking.”

“Our priority is ensuring students can enjoy their university experience in a safe and well-managed environment.”

If you ever are feeling vulnerable at night on a Wednesday, Friday or Saturday in city centre you can contact South Wales Police at this number 029 2022 2111 for the Safety Bus.