Lee Waters: I agree with that. This is clearly going to be—you know, it's taken decades for us to get this position and it's going to take time to change the culture and to put in place the investment and to rebalance the investment towards measures that discourage car use and encourage more modal shift. So, this isn't going to happen with a click of the fingers. Let's be clear about what this power is...
Lee Waters: Thank you. I would like update Members on the arrangements for public transport during the firebreak lockdown that the First Minister announced yesterday and to answer questions on the implications for our overall approach. From Friday, we're asking people to stay at home. Non-essential retail will be closed, people will be expected to work from home where possible, and visits to other...
Lee Waters: Thank you. I'm not entirely clear what additional detail Russell George feels that I'm denying the Senedd. I do have a two-hour session coming up in front of the economy committee, which I'm greatly looking forward to, so there'll be plenty of opportunity to go through any detailed questions that he has then. Certainly, there's no attempt, on my part, to conceal anything. Some of this, by...
Lee Waters: Thank you very much. Clearly, there's a great deal of shared interest and agreement in the comments that Helen Mary just outlined, which I welcomed. In terms of her questions, yes, the new round of ERF will be available, as in previous rounds, which did help bus and coach companies, subject, of course, to the eligibility criteria. But, in principle, that is our expectation: that bus companies...
Lee Waters: I think that buses have been a neglected part of our transport system, and they do carry a huge number of journeys. The figure I mentioned, to reiterate the social justice point, which I think is wort repeating—. The Transport for Wales surveys of bus users show that 78 per cent of people who travel by bus do not have access to a private car. I think that that is a staggering figure, which...
Lee Waters: I heard David Rowlands talking about multiple buses turning up in quick succession carrying a small number of passengers. It's rather reminiscent of all the little parties he's been a member of. But there is, of course—. The situation he talks of is a symptom of the problem we have with our public transport system. In a non-regulated environment, of course, anyone can set up a bus company...
Lee Waters: Well, in that spirit, Mr Melding, I shall put my pipe away; we'll have no more fireside chats here. Just to answer the nub of Dawn Bowden's point—. I must pay tribute to her for the work she has done as a member of the Valleys taskforce, chairing the transport sub-group of the taskforce, in helping us to develop the demand-responsive model, and the challenge that she has brought to the...
Lee Waters: Well, just on that last point, we are developing sophisticated forecasting and scenario-testing modelling to allow data-based judgments to be made about where to put investments and where there are gaps in provision. That is something Transport for Wales has been working on, and this is why we want to move on to a regional footing for the delivery of these services, because that gives us the...
Lee Waters: Well, briefly, these are the discussions we're having with the industry now. I think, from the tone of the statement this afternoon, we are sending a strong signal to them that it's no longer good enough simply to be asking for more money and, every time we ask for something in return, to tell us to jump in a lake, which has been a little bit of the conversations we had with some of the...
Lee Waters: Yes, thank you very much, Dirprwy Llywydd. It's been an illuminating debate because I'd forgotten how simple all this was to sort. My last 23 months in Government have taught me it's a little more complicated, but it's good to be reminded that it's much simpler than that. I thought it was a very useful report, and I found the hearings themselves a really helpful way of illuminating the...
Lee Waters: And we are having some successes, but there are also frustrations, there's no doubt about it. And I think Jenny Rathbone was right to challenge the public services boards in this. The thrust of the comments so far have been directed at the Welsh Government, but this is a whole-system approach that we need, and all public bodies have a responsibility to make sure they use their spending to...
Lee Waters: That was uncanny, because I was going to ask you how much time I had left.
Lee Waters: Okay. So, just to sum up, then, Dirprwy Lywydd, we are making progress. The pace is not to my satisfaction; this is proving to be very frustrating, because the barriers, both cultural and practical in a pandemic, are significant, but I would encourage you to hold our feet to the fire, because we do need to keep pushing forward on this. This is not going to be a short-term agenda; this is...
Lee Waters: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. The coronavirus pandemic has reminded us that there are many things that we once took for granted that we now no longer do. The ability to easily go places, to see family, to work, or to socialise, are things that none of us need reminding of the importance of as 2020 comes to an end. Despite huge advances in using digital communications, there's nothing like...
Lee Waters: The strategy we launch today marks the start of a genuine conversation we all need to have about how our transport networks need to change over the next generation, and when Members read the consultation documents, they will see they are the product of deep engagement with key stakeholders in the spirit of co-production that the future generations Act requires. The next step is an even wider...
Lee Waters: Thank you. There was a significant number of questions there. I'll do my best to try and answer them as quickly as I can. In terms of timescales, this is a 20-year vision but it sets out five-year priorities, and then the detailed delivery of that will be delivered through a national delivery plan, supported by regional transport plans, which will be developed by the joint transport...
Lee Waters: Thank you very much for those questions and for the offer of broad support, particularly for the principle of decarbonising transport. I agree this is a cross-party agenda and it will take multiple terms of the Senedd to implement, and I welcome her comments. In terms of the legal underpinning, then, of course, the future generations Act underpins the approach we set out, among other pieces...
Lee Waters: Thank you. I agree with Alun Davies that those are the tests, and I welcome his challenge to make sure that Government meet those tests, because unless we can meet those tests, then public transport will not be a realistic alternative to the car, and, on that basis, our vision and our strategy will fail. So, I completely agree with the aspiration there. Of course, operationalising that within...
Lee Waters: Thank you. I think David Rowlands perfectly outlines the dilemma there. He says, on the one hand, 'We need to have a carrot and a stick', but then he bristles at the stick. You do need to have them both together. The point about road-user charging is the current model that we rely on—the Treasury relies on, as you rightly say, to bring in revenue—will fall away as we move to electric...
Lee Waters: Thank you very much for the questions.
