6. Debate on the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee Report: 'The Future Development of Transport for Wales'

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:23 pm on 3 July 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Russell George Russell George Conservative 4:23, 3 July 2019

I think you are. I was just going to come on to talk perhaps a little bit about that as well following your contribution.

From the evidence that was gathered—. I'll come back to JTAs. From the evidence we gathered, I don't think we're able to conclude that one specific governance model would be a perfect fit for Wales, but I think a pick and mix of best practice should be applied. We heard evidence from transport expert Professor Iain Docherty, who told us that the number of transport bodies should be kept to the minimum necessary and no more.

Local government representatives have told us that they want to see tight co-ordination mechanisms for making important transport decisions in Wales. Although they welcome the regional collaboration, they question the need for a national JTA. Some stakeholders also see Transport for Wales as having that national co-ordination role, although of course it's a limited company owned by the Government, not a transport authority with statutory powers. So the committee therefore looks forward to seeing the detail of proposals for JTAs and Transport for Wales's future role to understand how they're going to fit together.

Jenny Rathbone and Vikki Howells and Hefin also commented on integrated ticketing in their contributions. Now, the remit given to Transport for Wales for land use planning and active travel will be important for developing an integrated network, because our inquiry showed the importance of a governance model that works across policy areas, like health, education and planning. Passenger journeys don't recognise, of course, those borders, and the needs of passengers, I think, must always come first.

We want to see evidence as well that Transport for Wales's work on integrated ticketing and communications and engagement with passengers is bearing fruit. We want to see that happening. I do just note the response to recommendation 8 to our inquiry, which points to its website for details on its obligations on integrated ticketing, but I think much more detail needs to come forward in that regard. I also thank Vikki as well for her contribution—Vikki Howells—who gave us a bit of a history lesson. I learnt some things today that I hadn't previously. I wouldn't expect anything different from a former teacher. 

Thank you to Bethan Sayed, who joined our committee just as we were starting this piece of work. I'd echo Bethan's final comments that as a committee we're going to continue to hold scrutiny on Transport for Wales. I also echo Hefin's comments, in that I think that Transport for Wales appreciate our scrutiny and challenge and they've always been very open to coming to committee and engaging with us as Members as well. 

I thank Oscar Asghar, who wasn't on the committee but is a new member of committee after joining our committee more recently. I'm grateful for his comments as well. And I thank Joyce Watson for her contribution, and David Rowlands for his contribution. David was a member of the committee at the time, but is no longer a member of the committee, so as I said in the committee—he wasn't there to hear this—but I thanked David for his contribution on the committee during his time with us. 

We're always grateful for those who give evidence to our inquiry and certainly appreciate the input from our transport stakeholders. We thank also—I think Vikki Howells mentioned it—our staff on the committee and the integrated team for their support as well. Our overriding message is that passengers deserve the best and they must come at the centre of everything that Transport for Wales does from now on.