Labour has pledged an enhanced bus offer for Wales if it wins this May’s Senedd election, but will this be matched funding? Rhodri Clark reports

 
Welsh bus fares for adults aged 22 to 59 would be capped at £2

 
Labour has pledged 100 more bus routes in Wales and a £2 single fare cap if it wins the Senedd election in May. Operators have welcomed the move but say it will need “hard cash”.

Transport secretary Ken Skates told Passenger Transport last autumn that Labour would make buses “an election issue” (PT347). His buses pledge is the first by Labour in this election campaign. Whichever party is in power from May will have a legal duty, under the new Bus Services (Wales) Act, to develop and procure all bus services within Wales.

The Labour Welsh Government abandoned a previously planned £1 fare cap in 2022, blaming the financial turmoil after prime minister Liz Truss’s mini-budget. A trial £1 fare for people aged under 22 began last year, because the sole Liberal Democrat MS made it a condition of supporting the minority Labour administration’s budget.

The pledged £2 fare cap from April 2027 contrasts with actions by the Labour UK Government, which increased England’s £2 fare cap to £3 and recently tasked consultants with advising the Department for Transport on “preparing an eventual exit strategy from the scheme”.

Welcoming Skates’ pre-election pledge, Arron Hill, director of CPT Cymru, said: “Wales has been slow, in comparison to the rest of Great Britain, to invest in lower bus fares so a cap of £2 would be a welcome step in boosting public transport usage. It is vital that any cap is backed with adequate funding, and that a strategy is in place to capture gains for the long term if the cap is for a limited period.”

Operators welcomed the pledge to introduce 100 new routes and were ready to help identify pockets of demand, he said. “Public funding under the current Welsh administration has not always been sufficient to meet the level of ambition set out by politicians. It is vital that, as a nation, we bridge this gap and that pledges are backed by hard cash.

“All public investment in buses must be designed to generate value for money and to deliver a visible impact for passengers.”

Public funding under the current Welsh administration has not always been sufficient to meet the level of ambition

While his last sentence might seem to state the obvious, some public investment has delivered no impact for passengers. In 2020 the Welsh Government announced a £450,000 grant for two electric buses and charging facilities for Flintshire, but the vehicles were sold after never being used there. Approximately £28,000 of Welsh Government bus funding was spent in September 2020 installing a large digital information screen at a Llanrwst bus stop which has no scheduled bus services. The screen remains operational, with permanent blank spaces for the times of the next departures.

Unite, the main union representing bus drivers, “cautiously welcomed” Skates’ announcement. General secretary Sharon Graham said fares should allow workers, students and families to go about their business for a fair fare.

Franchised services are due to start in South West Wales next year. An industry source said they looked likely to replicate the existing services because there was no funding for significant enhancements. “Public expectation is that we’re going to have this brand new ‘world class’ bus network throughout Wales,” he commented.

Last year, additional services and bus industry inflation increased by 62% the operating cost of the retendered Powys bus network, described by the Welsh Government as the “bridge to franchising”.

The Welsh Government told Passenger Transport last week it expected Royal Assent for the Act this month. Secondary legislation would follow the election and the timescale for it was unchanged. “Preparatory steps for franchising are being made and involve all aspects of franchising including infrastructure, fleet acquisition and service design.”

 
This article appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.

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