Integrated Transport for Cardiff

Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 1:41 pm on 2 May 2018.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 1:41, 2 May 2018

Can I thank the Member for his question? He's absolutely right—people are frustrated, and rightly so, with the lack of available public transport, not just on the railways but also in terms of local bus services. I  can confirm that there will be completion of the project in Cardiff Central in 2021. There will be completion of phase 2 of the metro project by 2023. But we're also bringing forward the projects that were originally designated as a future phase of the metro, for example park-and-ride facilities and other hubs, so that people see the delivery of the metro sooner than had originally been planned. I think it's essential that we give people more opportunities to get out of their cars, onto public transport or onto bikes, and we're doing just that. 

Elsewhere in Wales, in, for example, the north Wales metro area, I've announced recently funding to commence work on cycle ways and on integrated transport hubs in the Deeside area. Work is also under way at strategic sites right across north Wales and, indeed, on a cross-border basis into the north-west. Again, work is happening in the south-west of Wales, with Welsh Government funding work being led by the city deal partners in looking at how we could roll out a modern metro service in that region as well. 

Alongside this, we're investing very heavily through the national transport finance plan in road schemes to alleviate congestion, and we recently announced a pinchpoint scheme, which is being utilised across Wales to ensure that our trunk roads are freed up at specific points where there is currently congestion.