5. Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Bus services

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:02 pm on 23 June 2021.

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Photo of Hefin David Hefin David Labour 4:02, 23 June 2021

As Alun Davies said, there have been problems. Well, let's sort those out before we bring the pilot into Caerphilly, shall we? That's probably the best way to do it. I've been hounding the Minister for a Fflecsi service. Perhaps we can sort the problems out in Ebbw Vale first and then we'll perfect it in Caerphilly. That's the way things should happen.

I think the Bill that we are expecting to see, and we would have seen—I think the last interview I did on Sharp End before the pandemic that wasn't about the pandemic was on the bus Bill that we were expecting to see in the last Senedd. The reregulation Bill, I think, is going to be something really, really important. And the key issue, I think, will be how do you provide for people who work out of hours, how do you infill those services that are not profitable. How do you do that? I think reregulation—as has already been said by many speakers, particularly on these benches, because I think this is a core belief of our pursuit of social justice—will be key to that Bill.

Another question will also be—and perhaps this is one that the Minister can respond to in his answer—how are the regulatory structures going to fit in. Because I've talked to Carolyn Thomas, who was the Cabinet member for transport in Flintshire council. I've learned a lot today from speaking to her. One of the things she raised with me is what is the role of Transport for Wales, what will be the role of joint transport authorities, and what will be the role of local authorities. Because there are many specific roles you can allocate to those different groups that you have to get right, and we still aren't clear on exactly what they will be. I think some detail from the Minister, in his response, would be very helpful there and enable us to understand what this Bill is trying to achieve in the future.

This is a very welcome debate. I thought, Natasha Asghar, it was great to see your first speech, and it was a really good speech. It was perhaps a little bit too partisan for my taste in parts, but definitely, the direction we want to have is getting this improvement in public transport through on a cross-party basis in this Senedd. I think this debate paves the way for that.