The Welsh Government is consulting on radical plans to reform bus services. It wants to create one network, one timetable and one ticket across the whole of Wales. This would make buses more attractive, more accessible and better integrated with rail and other modes of transport. It sees this as key to making the bus relevant to more people and critical for getting people out of their cars to reduce carbon emissions quickly enough. Local authorities will also be able to run bus services again. The consultation ends on 24 June [1].
In Wales, especially in rural areas, the bus is often the main alternative to the private car [2]. Yet, bus services are notoriously unreliable, expensive, with impractical timetables, while competition between providers doesn’t work for passengers. TAN Cymru [2] agrees that reform is needed.
Paula Renzel, Welsh roads and climate campaigner for TAN Cymru said:
“We welcome these reforms. They are ambitious, radical and long overdue. Buses are the backbone of our public transport system yet have been ignored for too long. Services have been in sharp decline over the past decade and that needs to be reversed. For example, Merthyr Tydfil and Bargoed have lost services yet with one of the lowest rates of car ownership in Wales, many people have been left stranded.
“The proposals will put the bus back at the heart of an integrated transport network. They will give people more choice and improve many people’s lives. People’s quality of life and opportunities shouldn’t be dependent on having access to a car. In this period of economic uncertainty, bus services need to play a central role in connecting people to their jobs, family, friends, goods and services at an affordable price.
“It’s essential people take the time to respond to this important consultation so the Welsh Government hears just how important bus services are and acts quickly to resolve the current situation.”
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