Petition launched to call on Welsh Government to extend bus emergency funding scheme

The petition has been set up by Andrew Jenkins, Plaid Cymru’s prospective candidate for Neath after growing concerned on the potential impact cuts to services would have on the many people who rely on the bus.

Andrew said: “Buses are essential services – I don’t know how many times that has to be repeated before decision makers wake up and take notice. Every single day there are many thousands of people getting a bus to go to and from education, employment or training. Buses are essential in connecting our communities, combatting things like loneliness and social isolation, as well as helping to meet ambitions to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.”

According to Welsh Government, buses are the most popular form of public transport with over 88 million bus journeys made in Wales in 2019-20 compared to 36 million train journeys.

During the pandemic, the Welsh Government launched the Bus Emergency Scheme in order to safeguard services at a time when people were being told not to travel unless essential. Journeys fell from 88 million to 26 million and has struggled to recover in subsequent years.

It was announced on 10^th February by the Deputy Minister that the scheme, that was due to come to an end, would be extended for three months until the end of June after discussions with operators and their representatives.

Andrew added: “Though the pandemic has ended, the crisis for public transport has not. Passenger numbers have not recovered, and what was emergency funding is now vital in keeping many routes running. We have heard warnings from people throughout the public transport sector that a withdrawal of funding would devastate the bus network, leaving many services unviable.”

In the days following the announcement, Andrew launched a petition on the Senedd website calling for an extension and recovery plan.

Andrew says: “Funding and maintaining current bus service levels would be good, finding a way of improving services and making them sustainable would be better. That’s why I’m not just urging Welsh Government to extend funding, I’m also urging them to work with bus operators, users and other stakeholders to co-produce a recovery plan for the sector. Passenger numbers is a major contributing factor to this crisis – so why is no one asking how we increase passenger numbers? It’s three minutes to midnight for buses in Wales, now is the time for bold thinking that can secure services for years to come.”

While the petition has enough support to be considered by the Petitions Committee, it requires more signatures to secure a debate in the Senedd.

(Lead image: Andrew Jenkins)