Maesteg Park: Villagers with no bus service brand taxis a luxury

Villagers are calling for "lifeline" bus services to be restarted after the last was withdrawn due to council cuts.

They said it has left some in Maesteg Park, Bridgend county, reliant on taxis to get to the shops at nearby Maesteg.

Bridgend council said it withdrew a subsidy on "unprofitable routes" in 2019 due to cuts and the need to make £36m in savings over three years.

Councillor Ross Penhale-Thomas said it was a "typical case of knowing the price of something but not the value".

"It's a perfect storm - the lack of a bus, the geography of the area with it being so steep, the only local shop having just closed and the cost of living sky-rocketing, meaning taxis are a luxury," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Resident Jan Whelan, 72, who has lived in Maesteg Park her entire life, said: "The situation up here with the buses is absolutely terrible and, to be honest, since they stopped coming up to Maesteg Park we are completely cut off.

"You also have to consider the cost of pensioners getting taxis every day, particularly in a time when everything else is going up."

Mary Waters, 71, who also lives in Maesteg Park, said: "We could have accepted it if they had just limited the service to one an hour or even every few hours, but to take it away completely just left us totally isolated."

Gillian Tracey, 76, added: "There's no Post Office, no cash point, and now, since 2019, there's no bus here either.

"We feel just as isolated as when we were in lockdown."

Bridgend Council said: "While there are no current plans to resurrect the subsidy, the council continues to support and work closely with public transport providers as well as organisations such as Bridgend Community Transport who offer services such as town rider and community car schemes."