Wales’ deputy climate change minister has announced that bus services in Wales are set to receive £39m in new funding through the ‘Bus Network Grant’.
The grant will be made available to local authorities in Wales to secure services once the Welsh government’s Bus Transition Fund comes to an end on March 31.
Local authorities will be required to meet specific conditions to receive funding.
These include ensuring routes and timetables support improved journey times, deliver opportunities for greater connectivity where possible, and provide improved information about the times of bus services.
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Wales’ deputy climate change minister, Lee Waters, said: “The Bus Network Grant will bring stability to the industry as well as increased public control of bus services.
“It will also act as a bridge from the emergency funding that has been provided toward bus franchising.
“It will include specific conditions that will encourage improved regional co-ordination of bus services; network ticketing and the need to ensure accurate and up to date information about the bus services provided.
“The cost of running existing school buses is around £160m a year and has significantly increased – it now accounts for about a quarter of non-delegated spending on schools by councils.
“Making free travel available to more pupils would obviously add to that bill considerably at a time when the overall Welsh government budget has faced cuts of £1.2bn.
“We see school transport as fundamental to our plans to bring buses back under public control, linking school transport and scheduled services and supporting investment in modern buses that are accessible for all.”
For the last three years, the Welsh government has been working on plans to reform the way buses in Wales are run.
It recently published details in a road map of bus reform and, later this year, a Bus Bill will be introduced in the Senedd.
The Welsh government has also published the Learner Travel Recommendations Report 2023, a series of recommendations to help improve the consistency, quality and safety of learner travel provision across Wales.
The report recommends a comprehensive update to the statutory guidance documents that outlines the roles and responsibilities of all those involved in learner travel.
Transport for Wales’ executive director for regional transport and integration, Lee Robinson, said: “Bus franchising will bring an end to a disjointed system, where it’s up to private companies to decide which routes to run, and instead, councils and the Welsh government work in partnership to agree local and regional bus networks that serve the needs of communities.
“It will also enable Transport for Wales to tie in bus routes with train timetables, to create an integrated public transport system and a single ticket which can be used for both.”
Achievements and innovations in public transport will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector.
