Local Bus Services to the Afan Valley

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 2:03 pm on 16 January 2019.

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Photo of David Rees David Rees Labour 2:03, 16 January 2019

Thank you for that answer, Minister. The Afan valley is actually serviced by two local authorities in one sense, because buses come from Maesteg and Bridgend. The focus, mainly, is from Port Talbot up to the Afan valley. Now, the communities of the Afan valley are some of the most disadvantaged communities that we have in Wales and they don't have a lot of cars. The percentage of car ownership is quite low in comparison to many other areas; they rely upon bus services. Now, unfortunately, the bus service from Port Talbot up to the Afan valley one hour goes to Glyncorrwg, the second hour, it goes to Blaengwynfi and alternates. So, for two hours, you have to wait for a bus to come up. Now, for people who haven't got transport and who have to access services, whether it's employment, or maybe elderly people who need to go to hospital services 10 miles down the road to Neath Port Talbot Hospital, they may spend all day travelling and getting there to get back in for maybe a half-an-hour appointment. Now, these are challenging times. I've written to the bus company, who seem to focus mainly on commercial activities. But will you therefore meet with Neath Port Talbot Council and Bridgend County Borough Council to look at the opportunities to support bus transportation to allow people to actually get to places on time without spending their whole life travelling?