By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.
Accept
routeonerouteonerouteone
  • News
    • Show all
    • Awards & Events
    • Deliveries
    • Environment
    • Exhibitor News
    • Euro Bus Expo 2024
    • Features
    • Legal
    • Minibus and minicoach
    • Operators
    • Opinion
    • People
    • Suppliers
    • Vehicles
  • Vehicles
    • Find a Vehicle
    • ZEV Comparison Tool
    • Sell a Vehicle
    • Vehicle Seller Dashboard
  • Insights
  • Careers
  • Events
    • British Tourism & Travel Show
    • Euro Bus Expo
    • Innovation Challenge
    • Livery Competition
    • routeone Awards
  • Advertise
  • Contact
    • Share your news
    • Subscribe
    • Update Subscription Details
  • Latest Issue
  • SIGN UP
Search
© 2024 routeone News. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Welsh bus reform plans underlined as support ‘comes at a price’
Share
Font ResizerAa
routeonerouteone
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • News
    • Show all
    • Awards & Events
    • Deliveries
    • Environment
    • Exhibitor News
    • Euro Bus Expo 2024
    • Features
    • Legal
    • Minibus and minicoach
    • Operators
    • Opinion
    • People
    • Suppliers
    • Vehicles
  • Vehicles
    • Find a Vehicle
    • ZEV Comparison Tool
    • Sell a Vehicle
    • Vehicle Seller Dashboard
  • Insights
  • Careers
  • Events
    • British Tourism & Travel Show
    • Euro Bus Expo
    • Innovation Challenge
    • Livery Competition
    • routeone Awards
  • Advertise
  • Contact
    • Share your news
    • Subscribe
    • Update Subscription Details
  • Latest Issue
  • SIGN UP
Follow US
© 2024 routeone News | Powered by Diversified Business Communications UK Ltd
- Advertisement -
-
routeone > News > Welsh bus reform plans underlined as support ‘comes at a price’
NewsOperatorsTop Story

Welsh bus reform plans underlined as support ‘comes at a price’

routeone Team
routeone Team
Published: October 22, 2020
Share
SHARE

Bus operators in Wales have come under fire from Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport Lee Waters, who has underlined the Welsh Government’s desire to see wholesale reform in how services are provided in the country.

Contents
Demand responsive services key to Welsh bus reform, says WatersBus franchising in Wales ‘no longer possible’; partnership way ahead

His remarks were made in the Senedd on 20 October. Ongoing emergency funding for buses “will come at a price” of increased partnership working in the long term. Mr Waters criticised operators for “being commercial when it suits them, and [wanting] more [public] money when it suits them, too.”

Mr Waters also used his address it to confirm that funding through the Bus Emergency Scheme – recently extended to the end of the financial year – will be upheld during the ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown in Wales, despite a lower service level outside peak hours being called for by the Welsh Government.

Demand responsive services key to Welsh bus reform, says Waters

During the first peak of coronavirus COVID-19, every bus passenger in Wales was subsidised by £30, Mr Waters claims. He adds that the sight of empty buses “rattling around the streets” during that time “sent a contradictory signal, and we do not want to see that repeated.”

Turning his attention to longer-term bus reform in Wales, Mr Waters says that as travel patterns change, services must adapt with them. Fflecsi demand-responsive routes are showing promise, but Mr Waters has questioned exactly how the industry will be supported through a transitionary period as demand patterns change permanently.

The Welsh Government recognises that buses will require ongoing subsidy, he says. “But in return for that, we need to have a greater strategic partnership with [operators] to make sure that our key priorities are delivered. And that is the conversation that we are having with them now. Yes, there will be ongoing support. But it comes at a price.”

Bus franchising in Wales ‘no longer possible’; partnership way ahead

During the same address, Mr Waters gave the strongest hint yet that aspirations for franchising in Wales are now dead. The Bus Services (Wales) Bill, published on 16 March, included proposals for such powers. Bringing forward the Bill is now “no longer possible” because it is a route that “has been denied.”

However, should a partnership approach not work, the Welsh Government is looking at the role that Transport for Wales could have potentially as a direct provider of bus services by working with local authorities.

During his address, Mr Waters expressed frustration that details of the ‘circuit breaker’ that were shared with the bus industry before being made public were leaked. “We did so in good faith, and I am disappointed that was breached,” he says. A briefing document of the proposed measures circulated on social media ahead of a formal announcement.

Share This Article
Facebook LinkedIn Threads Email Copy Link
Previous Article Yellow Buses personally delivers BCP Destination Awards
Next Article Caetano H2.City Gold makes RHD debut with Abellio
- Advertisement -

Latest News

Big Bus Tours brand for McGill's Edinburgh sightseeing operation
Big Bus Tours brand for McGill’s Edinburgh sightseeing operation
News
Cozy Travel to become FlixBus UK operator partner
Cozy Travel to become FlixBus UK operator partner from 13 June
News
Pulhams – Assistant Operations Manager
Careers
Ashton under Lyne is first full electric Bee Network bus depot
Ashton-under-Lyne is first fully-electric Bee Network bus depot
News
- Advertisement -
-

routeone magazine is the indispensable resource for professional UK coach, bus and minibus operators. The home of vehicle sales and the latest bus and coach job vacancies, routeone connects professional PCV operators with complete and unrivalled news coverage.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • GDPR Policy
  • Sustainability
  • Advertise
  • Latest Issue
  • Share Your News
routeonerouteone
Follow US
© 2024 routeone News | Powered by Diversified Business Communications UK Ltd