Bus Services

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:36 pm on 15 February 2023.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 1:36, 15 February 2023

I'm grateful for the question and completely agree with the points that are made about bus services being a critical part of our approach to delivering social justice here in Wales, and, of course, an important part of our environmental aspirations as well. I think that our support for the bus industry through the pandemic and now at the other side of the pandemic has been absolutely crucial in terms of maintaining the services that we do have in Wales. But it was a bus emergency scheme, and I think that this level of subsidy is just not sustainable in the long term, which is really why we are looking at reviewing the bus services support grant, to move the industry away from that kind of reliance on the emergency funding to something that is much more stable in the future. And colleagues will be aware of our ambitious plans, in terms of the bus Bill that we aim to bring forward, to bring more control back to local authorities in terms of the services that are provided. So, I think that, really, is the longer term answer, but, in the meantime, our support is really important for the industry.