Written question WQ83227

Work is progressing at pace to carry out the first national review of bus networks across Wales for many years. Welsh Government has commissioned Transport for Wales (TfW) to undertake the review working closely with local authority colleagues who are responsible for delivery of bus services at a local level.

The Fflecsi demand responsive bus service (DRT) is being trialled across a number of areas in Wales. The service replaces some scheduled local bus services with more flexible ones which can pick up and drop off in a service area by request, rather than only at fixed bus stops.

Welsh Government is due to publish our bus delivery plan and white paper late in 2021. This will set out our plans to transform Wales’ bus network, making it more reliable, accessible and affordable. This is both an important step in our journey to a low carbon transport network and to reducing transport inequality for those reliant on bus services. This will affect how we work with local authorities on both public and school transport, as well as having implications for the public transport networks people use to access wider public services.

Our Metros will change the way we travel by creating modern, sustainable bus, rail, cycling and walking networks, creating a range of work and leisure opportunities while reducing the environmental impact of our transport network. They will play a critical role in delivering the priorities and objectives of our ambitious new transport strategy, Y Llwybr Newydd. Customers across Wales can expect a network of routes and interchanges that offer faster, more frequent and reliable services on more comfortable, accessible and greener vehicles.

We are working collaboratively to support local authorities in the development of our Metros. In North Wales we have allocated £21.5m this year to TfW and local authorities to develop and deliver Metro schemes. In Swansea Bay and West Wales, £7.6m has been allocated to local authorities to deliver active travel and public transport schemes to support the Metro programme. In South-east Wales, £22.7m has been allocated across ten local authorities to deliver schemes that support and integrate with the £800m transformation programme of the Core Valley Lines network that will see new tram-trains provide turn-up-and-go services.

However, in the absence of the appropriate devolution of rail infrastructure and a fair funding settlement, we need the UK Government to fulfil their responsibilities for improving the rail network in Wales. Despite the clear benefits it would bring to delivering an integrated public transport network and encouraging modal shift, the UK Government has consistently rejected our request for control over the network and continuously failed to invest in Wales.