A pilot of free travel on the Welsh-government supported TrawsCymru network started on Saturday (8 July), in an effort to promote the wider use of the network.
It will run every weekend until at least May 2018 and is designed to act as a catalyst for bus travel in Wales, currently in sharp decline.
Says Economy and Infrastructure Secretary Ken Skates: “The free service is subject to availability, but we have provided additional funding to local authorities to ensure operators are able to deploy more buses to meet increased demand if necessary.
“Provisions have also been made to reimburse operators of other local bus services should they experience any reduction of passengers as a result of this pilot, although we are optimistic it will have the opposite effect.”
TrawsCymru is Wales-wide network of eight mainly north-south bus routes filling in gaps in the rail network, and paid for by the Welsh Government.
It is hoped the initiative will also provide a boost to destinations and tourist attractions on the route, such as the Brecon Beacons National Park.
