Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:13 pm on 28 November 2018.
I don't disagree with Mark Reckless. I'm sure that's one of the possible options, but obviously there are other places that need to be served. This isn't quite the place for examining the detail. But one of the important things we've learned recently, since Transport for Wales took over the Arriva contract, is that James Price has assured us that the Keolis contract is flexible enough to be able to adapt to changing targets. So, this is very good; we can change the spec for the contract without incurring penalties. So, this is really important. So, instead of assuming that the congestion around Newport can be magicked away by building more roads—it would be a first if that was the case—the Government needs to do some serious work on the public transport solutions to the congestion problems that Newport undoubtedly faces. In particular, I want to know in the short term how long it takes to get a fleet of electric or hydrogen buses purchased and up and running. That is the fastest solution while we fix the rail lines and get more trains on the tracks.