The Member has raised this on numerous occasions in this Chamber and outside of this Chamber. I think the idea has great merit, especially as we see the development of the convention centre at the Celtic Manor. The metro is being designed in such a way as to be extendable, so that additional services and additional hubs can be created as necessary. So, it’s certainly something that is being considered within Transport for Wales, and it’s something that I’m particularly keen to see considered as part of the potential extension of the metro network.

I do think that there’s no doubt that traffic congestion impacts negatively on the reliability and the punctuality of bus services, and that this, in turn, makes travel by bus less attractive. We fund and action a number of interventions for congestion, as outlined previously, and I remain committed to an integrated transport network that I believe will tackle the challenges such as traffic congestion and environmental pollution.

Presiding Officer, we also need to encourage motorists to use buses more often, by making buses more attractive in terms of the price of travel, through competitive and straightforward fares, through multi-operator ticketing regimes, underpinned by transparent and fair revenue sharing arrangements, and, of course, by publicising how good our bus network is already. Building on the bus summit that was held in January, a number of workshops are to take place this autumn to undertake further work to consider how best we can improve the passenger experience at bus stops by providing improved facilities, consistent with passenger information provision, to develop funding solutions that offer greater stability to the bus industry in Wales, and deliver an integrated transport system that provides improved accessibility and ticketing solutions that are fit for the twenty-first century.

Presiding Officer, I am also considering the responses from the consultation on local bus services in Wales, part of a national dialogue and call for evidence, following the success of the bus summit, on the longer-term direction for local bus services, and proposals, I believe, that could make a significant improvement to services in Wales.