8. Will the First Minister provide an update on recent discussions with Transport for Wales on the performance of its services in Mid and West Wales? OAQ54468

I thank the Member. The Minister for Economy and Transport has regular discussions with Transport for Wales on the performance of rail services across the Wales and borders service. Transport for Wales are currently finalising their preparations for the autumn and winter months to underpin the reliability of their services.

I thank the First Minister for that reply. He'll know that 24 per cent of the population in Mid and West Wales are over 65 and older people in particular rely on various forms of public transport more than others to get about. He'll be aware also of the fiasco of the concessionary bus pass website for the renewal scheme, which crashed on 11 September and took two weeks to get up and running again. Would he give us an assurance that everybody who wants to renew a bus pass will be able to do so before the end of the year? And given that overcrowding on trains and delays and cancellations are so frequently in the news, can he assure us that Transport for Wales is actually fit for purpose?

I thank the Member for the opportunity to reassure others in the Chamber that the website is now operating very effectively, and that as of this morning 211,000 had registered with it and that it is working in the way that we had originally intended. As for Transport for Wales, Members will have seen the statements put out by the Minister for transport at the end of last week demonstrating the changes that will be made on 15 December. They will see a 10 per cent increase in the number of passengers who can be carried on our railways. That will go alongside the £194 million investment in stations across Wales. It will lie alongside the reductions in fares that I mentioned earlier for children and for older people. It will lie alongside improvements that are being made, for example, to passenger experience, in information, and in Wi-Fi. Transport for Wales has the most ambitious programme of improvements to rail services in Wales during the whole period of devolution. They have embarked on that programme. As was always said, it will last over a period of years, and citizens and passengers in Wales are already seeing the benefits.

Thank you, First Minister.