Thank you to the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Infrastructure for his comprehensive statement—comprehensive in terms of the answers and comprehensive in terms of that questions that have been asked, so I won’t rehearse anything that has already been mentioned, but just to emphasise that the bus service is vital, especially for that cohort of our population that is increasingly becoming older, but is still fit and healthy, but doesn’t feel confident enough to drive a car. Well, this is the way that they go around. They are dependent on the bus routes that already exist offering services that are prompt—that you can depend on them turning up and similar issues.

To begin, I’ll look at the local side of things. Of course, bus services were deregulated several years ago, perhaps even before the Cabinet Secretary was born. But the business of having a private service was meant to improve the standard of the service and to improve the provision of the bus service. Perhaps that was true in some examples, but it was not true in all places, as we’ve already heard. From my days as a county councillor in Swansea, I was aware that, as a local authority, the private bus companies received a great deal of funding, but when people wanted a service to continue in a particular area, then the business elements were prioritised, not the fact that the bus companies were receiving a great deal of public funding to provide a service, yet they could stop that service when it suited them. I do believe that there’s still an element of that. You talked a lot about the role of local authorities in this regard. They have funding and some local authorities provide funding. Some, I believe, don’t provide any funding at all to bus services—you’ve already stated that.

I have particular interest in these developments when you go to meetings with Cardiff and Newport about sustainable bus networks, that is, to get to grips with this question that there are some services, even in the heart of our larger cities, that don’t pay their way and are in danger of being stopped perhaps. So, I’d like to know a little bit more about the sustainable bus networks and perhaps developing them for areas such as Swansea.

And the second point, and I am aware that time is against us, Presiding Officer, but we’ve talked a lot about the need to improve links between north and south Wales in the context of the roads and also railways, but the same is true about the bus links. As I’ve already said, there are a great many people who like to live their lives dependent on the bus. That’s possible, especially with the free bus travel that is increasingly available for people who are perhaps older, but who are still fit and want to travel around Wales.

In that regard, interest has been expressed in the bus service between Aberystwyth and Cardiff, which was lost recently because the Lloyds Coaches company finished its operation. There’s no link there, despite the popular family name. Of course, I am aware that the Cabinet Secretary has confirmed with Elin Jones AM, the local Member, that there would be a new service in place by the end of October. Naturally, we are talking about links between south and north Wales and north and south Wales that are vitally important to unite our nation. But in terms of that specific service between Aberystwyth and Cardiff, can you give an update on when we can expect to see that excellent bus service once again running and joining up our nation—a service that is so vitally important to us as a nation? Thank you very much.