Bus: Wales could lose quarter of services, say operators

Up to a quarter of bus services in Wales could be cut if operators fail to get further long-term government funding, passengers have been warned.

It is estimated almost 10% of bus routes have been axed this summer now the Welsh government's £150m pandemic-era emergency funding has ended.

Ministers said they were working on funding to start after April.

Mother-of-two Chelsea Hamlyn, 29, said she relies on buses to get her daughter to nursery then travel to work.

The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), which represents bus companies, said bus users could be hit further by more cuts in the next financial year.

Routes in Cardiff and Newport are among those that have been cut this summer, with bus firms blaming reduced funding, fewer passengers after Covid and the new 20mph speed limit.

Ministers said this year's grant could save a "majority" of routes.

Chelsea, a hairstylist, has a 40-mile round trip to get to work in Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, from her home in Llangynwyd, Bridgend county, including a detour for her childcare arrangements.

"I relied on the 7:30am bus that would take me at from Llangynwyd to Cwmfelin to drop my daughter at nursery," she said.

"I can't rely on family or friends for a lift and I simply cannot afford to learn to drive at the moment. I sometimes take a taxi but they can be expensive.

"So many people rely on the bus for work. The early bus always had hospital staff on it and now they are having to also rely on family and friends' help or catch really early trains."

CPT Cymru director Aaron Hill said: "We could have seen 20-25% of the whole network in Wales cut as a result of this most recent funding ended. We don't want to be in that position in March and April.

"The industry wants to be able to grow to run new services and to reach places that they are not able to at the moment, but the level of funding isn't there."

Mr Hill said he appreciated how tight public finances were, but "we need to work with Welsh government to find a solution beyond April".

Wales' cross-country TrawsCymru routes have been protected by the most recent grants but services across the nation have been hit, affecting Stagecoach in the south and Arriva in the north.

"Regrettably bus operators in Cardiff, Newport and other areas are withdrawing services right, left and centre," said Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies.

He said the government grant was insufficient and ministers had not "done enough to promote returning passengers to bus services".

Passengers numbers in Wales have almost halved since Covid, falling from 101 million in 2018-19 to 52 million in 2021-22, according to Department of Transport figures.

"You need the passengers to maintain the service but you need the service to bring the passengers on board - it's a vicious circle," said Mr Davies.

Plaid Cymru called on the Labour-run Welsh government to act "decisively and urgently".

"These cuts will be felt by communities across our country by people who rely on the bus network to go to work, see friends and family, or hospital appointments," said Plaid transport spokeswoman Delyth Jewell.

"It will harm local economies and make inequality worse."

As well as an estimated 10% cut in bus services, operators have also altered routes as more people work from home.

One group of residents in Monmouthshire has helped save their local bus after it was threatened with closure.

Residents of villages that use the 65 service between Monmouth and Chepstow campaigned to save it.

With the help of Monmouthshire council, The Friends of the 65 created a website and Twitter and Facebook accounts and brought a bunch of rural communities together.

Retired lecturer and Friend of the 65 member Jane Gilliard, who lives in The Narth, near Monmouth, said: "The bus has become a community in itself with friendly users and drivers and have people that catch it from Monmouth to Chepstow and back again simply to get out of the house and see people.

"We have many regular passengers and sometimes absence of regulars is noted by the drivers who alert other passengers.

"In one case, we went around to a lady's house and she'd had a fall so we galvanised support and helped with tasks until they were well enough to get back on the bus and do their shopping again - so it's a social service as much as a bus service."

The Welsh government said it was supporting councils with bus-priority measures to keep passengers moving and make bus travel more attractive.

It added: "Our priority up until now been ensuring services continue to run and that we are not facing wholesale collapse of the industry. We are now working on the funding offer for next year".