Concern over future of long-distance bus services

Ceredigion AM Elin Jones, who has campaigned for effective long-distance bus links in the county, has reacted with concern to new timetables which mean fewer journeys to Cardiff.

Arriva has cut one journey per day on the 20 service between Aberystwyth and Cardiff. All passengers on the 40 service from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen will have to change at Lampeter.

Arriva has announced the new timetables at the same time as it has emerged that new coaches, originally commissioned by the Welsh Government in 2011 to serve the long-distance route from Ceredigion to Carmarthen, are being re-deployed to a route between the Welsh capital and Cardiff airport.

Elin Jones said: “Changing buses at Lampeter will be unnecessarily inconvenient for passengers. I’m also concerned at the reduced services to Cardiff. These services are in demand from a wide range of people, including pensioners and students. The constant timetable changes are confusing for everyone; Ceredigion isn’t getting a fair deal.

“It’s very bad news that the commercially-operated Arriva service is being cut back when the coaches which had been originally bought by the Government have been moved elsewhere. Although I understand the Welsh Government’s desire to see buses being used and not lying idle, I’m anxious to ensure that Ceredigion doesn’t lose out. The coaches were commissioned as part of an investment in transport in the west. As demand for an hourly train service to Aberystwyth is continually ignored, we must ensure that we get our fair share of public subsidy for bus services.”