Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 24 April 2018.
There is an evaluation that is taking place. What we do know, however, is that passenger numbers are growing. The introduction of free travel has been hugely important in terms of doing that. I have to say that the Member gives the impression, in the way he asked the question, that he is not in favour of the TrawsCymru network. Any network when it first begins will take some time to bed in. We've never had a proper national bus network. Even in the days of the TrawsCambria, Cardiff to Aberystwyth and then on to Bangor existed, after an hour's wait in Aberystwyth for those who then went on to Bangor, but everything else was pretty short-term and unsustainable. We intend to put in place a long-term, sustainable network. We know there are communities now that are having a bus service for the first time in over 40 years, and that's something that I'm sure they will welcome. So, I'm happy with the way that the TrawsCymru network is performing and, of course, the passenger numbers in terms of the growth that we've seen.