Thank you, Presiding Officer. I move the motion. When we talk about public transport in Wales, mostly we’re talking about buses. Bus travel accounts for over 80 per cent of public transport in Wales, but over the past decade, bus services have declined by nearly half. If we look at figures between 2005 and 2016 published by the Welsh Government, they show us that passenger numbers have declined by around 20 per cent. Interestingly, this compares to an increase of around 1 per cent in English journey times for the same period.

The average speeds of buses in Wales are declining faster than any other mode of transport, and slower journey times and speeds, of course, make bus travel a less attractive option for customers. I put it to you that a reduction in speeds is caused by congestion on the roads of our towns and cities but also key pinch points in rural areas as well. I certainly don’t think that this is just an urban issue. It increases journey times, it makes bus trips unpredictable, increases operational costs and fares, and undermines passengers’ confidence. And, of course, it reinforces negative perceptions of the bus. A leading expert on congestion, Professor David Begg, has said that,

Traffic congestion is a disease which, left unchecked will destroy the bus sector.’

Faced with congestion, bus operators are forced to respond in one of two ways: either to attempt to maintain service frequency with the associated increase in costs or to operate fewer services. Our bus services transport people to work and to education, connect communities, support our economy and help to make our country greener by reducing the number of private cars on our roads. They’re a vital lifeline for about a quarter of Welsh households without access to a car and for those for whom rail isn’t a viable option.

A fit-for-purpose bus service supports economic growth, but it also has a range of positive environmental impacts. Buses are a part of the jigsaw that will help us to release the ambition, I think, of many key pieces of legislation passed here: our carbon reduction commitments under the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, a shift to sustainable travel supported by the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013, and working towards the well-being goals set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

The Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee report, which we are considering today, sets out our views on the action Welsh Government needs to take to urgently address the crippling impact that congestion is having on the bus industry in Wales. There have been examples of significant investment in the industry. The quality of vehicles is improving and the legislation is in place to support a modal shift to sustainable public transport. Despite this, the numbers of bus journeys and passengers continue to fall. The bus is still viewed as the Cinderella of public transport, and this downward trend needs to reverse. More action is needed to combat congestion and improve bus services for the people of Wales.

Our report sets out one recommendation and that is that, as a matter of urgency, the Welsh Government should develop and publish an action plan to set out how it will tackle the impacts of traffic congestion on the bus industry in Wales. Whilst we recognise that there is a substantial role for bus operators and local authorities to play, it is essential that the Welsh Government provides clear strategic direction on the action needed, and the starting point must be a recognition of the scale and extent of the impacts of congestion on the industry. We need a firm commitment from Government to tackle the issue, and, during our inquiry, we heard that further work is needed to understand the root causes, and this should be used, of course, to inform the development of sustainable, evidence-based solutions.

Local authorities are key players in the battle against congestion, of course. They need support from the Welsh Government to work in partnership with bus operators, they need guidance and support to establish effective bus quality partnership schemes, and they need to ensure that they work in partnership across administrative boundaries that are often meaningless to the residents who live there. Local and regional planning provides the ideal mechanism to ensure that congestion is tackled on a regional basis. There are many tools currently available to help tackle congestion: park-and-ride schemes, congestion charging, enhanced parking charges, workplace parking levies, and bus priority measures of course, as well, such as bus lanes. These need to be assessed in the Welsh context and decisions need to be taken about how useful they might be. Different solutions will, of course, be right for different areas, but it is indisputable, though, that, if bus is going to become a solution to transport issues, it does need to have priority.

Bus services are caught in a catch-22 situation. For congestion to be reduced, people need to be encouraged out of their cars and to make the switch to public transport. Whilst congestion is still having such significant impacts on bus travel, the bus industry is unlikely to be an attractive option. There is much work to do to sell the benefits of travelling by bus. The bus industry needs to market itself more positively, and there is a role for Welsh Government and local authorities in developing and delivering an impactful nationwide campaign to encourage the modal shift to public transport.

In response to the Welsh Government, the Welsh Government has accepted our overall recommendation to produce an action plan. It has also agreed with the committee’s suggestion about what the plan should include. I’m delighted that the Cabinet Secretary shares our committee’s vision for an effective and efficient bus services that is committed to improving bus services across Wales. We are encouraged by the fact that the Cabinet Secretary has taken on board our recommendation to better understand the root causes of the issue, and furthermore that, following on from the bus summit earlier this year, he will be convening a workshop in the autumn, and this will give local authorities, bus operators and other partners the opportunity to get together to discuss the particular issues in their areas. We hope that the Cabinet Secretary will feedback to the committee as soon as possible after that has taken place.

We remain concerned about how local authorities will work together. The Cabinet Secretary has announced funding for them to appoint bus co-ordinators in north and south Wales, whose remit includes closer working between stakeholders to develop bus quality partnerships. There is a raft of guidance already available for local authorities, encouraging them to work together, and it remains to be seen whether these new posts will actually make a difference on the ground to achieve the ultimate aim of a more efficient and sustainable service for bus users.

We welcome the greater transparency that will come from Welsh Government, requiring local authorities to establish the predicted revenue of bus operators for each route for which they have sought a support grant. In a time of constrained budgets, it is essential that funding is, of course, directed towards those services and routes where it is most needed. We also support the proposal that the Cabinet Secretary set out in his response that the grant could only be allocated in support of bus services that formed part of a quality bus partnership between local authorities and operators. This would be a catalyst, I think, for improvements in partnership working. I very much look forward to the debate this afternoon and hearing contributions from Members across the Chamber.