5. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport: Funding for Buses

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:58 pm on 20 October 2020.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 3:58, 20 October 2020

Thank you very much. Clearly, there's a great deal of shared interest and agreement in the comments that Helen Mary just outlined, which I welcomed. In terms of her questions, yes, the new round of ERF will be available, as in previous rounds, which did help bus and coach companies, subject, of course, to the eligibility criteria. But, in principle, that is our expectation: that bus companies can and will be helped through that.

In terms of the decarb, we are working with operators that have electric bus grants from the Department for Transport, and we've certainly helped local authorities with those bids, and we've been providing, I think, Cardiff Bus with some support for electric buses. That is, I think, one of the areas where we are keen to do more, recognising that one of the challenges we have within Government in supporting the bus industry is that in the transport department capital funding has historically been easier to get our hands on than revenue funding. So, obviously, a way that we can help to improve the transport offer through capital—helping to buy buses, rather than funding to run services—is easier to do. 

The Member mentions some services in my own constituency—Llangennech and Trimsaran. This will be a familiar tale to Members across the country: that the ramping back up of bus services has, obviously, been problematic, with bus drivers still on furlough, with the impact that the social distancing requirement has on the viability of services and the whole range of practical barriers that have been put in place that local authorities have, in terms of their own officer time, to make the changes necessary. So, that is obviously a familiar picture. When we've been in half measures over the summer, it has not been possible—nor, indeed, viable—because the ticket revenue collapsed, for a full return to services. Obviously, as we move out of winter into spring and summer, we would hope to re-ramp that back up, so that as many services are able to be returned as possible.

She asked about different ownership models—shared ownership and not-for-profit. Certainly, one of the things that we'd hoped to bring forward in the Bill that we've had to postpone would be to allow local authorities to run their own bus companies, which is something we were very keen on. So, as I say, I am hoping that the next Welsh Government will be able to pick that back up, because that, I think, is a shared aspiration.

In the meantime, we are looking at the role that Transport for Wales could have potentially as a direct provider. There's no reason why, in principle—. We have there a model, an arm's-length body, that could directly run services if that was necessary, and that's something that we are looking at in partnership with local authorities on a regional footing. So, I hope that I've covered the questions that were posed there.