5. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport: Ambitions for Great Western and North Wales Main Lines

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:45 pm on 8 May 2018.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 4:45, 8 May 2018

I thank Jenny Rathbone for her questions. It's always a pleasure to answer Jenny Rathbone because she has such a keen passion for public transport, in particular the integration of rail and bus services, and of course active travel services. The Member is absolutely right that Professor Barry is a rail heavyweight. We're very pleased that he has agreed to undertake this work, and I'm sure that the work will be carried out apace. I also hope that work on Cardiff Central will now take place at pace. The Secretary of State announced that Cardiff Central improvements would be a priority after the cancellation of the electrification programme beyond Cardiff, and I hope to see that work take place without delay.

In terms of fares, it's a tragic fact that, in parts of Wales, 20 per cent of young people don't even turn up to their job interviews when trying to find work, because they cannot afford public transport to get there. This is in part as a consequence of relatively high fares on rail. It's also in part as a consequence of infrequent and sometimes excessively expensive bus transport as well. The answer, of course, in Wales, as far as the Wales and borders franchise is concerned, is with the new franchise agreement. We set out in our high-level objectives the need for bidders to ensure that their profits would be minimised and that any excess would be reinvested into service provision. It's also absolutely right that we look at maintaining, wherever and whenever possible, the lowest possible fares on rail services, and that's what I hope to be talking about a little more once the Cabinet has considered the outcome of the procurement process.

But equally it's absolutely vital moving forward that a greater degree of integration of rail and bus ticketing takes place. I've seen in parts of the UK—in the Merseyside area in particular—excellent examples of how bus and rail integrated ticketing has acted as an enabler, particularly for young people facing unemployment, in ensuring that they can get into work and stay in work. That's what I wish to see replicated through the new franchise and through additional services in the future being managed by Transport for Wales. That's what I wish to see happen here.