7. Plaid Cymru Debate: Bus emergency scheme

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:32 pm on 22 March 2023.

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Photo of Delyth Jewell Delyth Jewell Plaid Cymru 5:32, 22 March 2023

Thanks for that, Huw. In terms of—. Well, this is why we've got this almost two different perspectives—well, not two different perspectives, but two different—. The immediate and then the more fundamental questions happening at the same time. In terms of the immediate, we're asking evidently for the Government to look again at not just the transport budget that's given over to buses. The Deputy Minister has been honest with the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee in the past about how so much more, proportionally, of the transport budget is given over to trains. I appreciate the fact that these projects for trains are very expensive, but, at the moment, because of just how skewed actual passenger numbers are in favour of buses and those journeys at the moment, I think that does need to be looked at. 

But I think we also need to be having a much more fundamental conversation about how we learn from places like London, where they seem to be getting this. It's not often that I'll say we need to be learning from London, but I think, in this, we do need to look at how the balance works. I'm not pretending that this is an easy thing, but, really, I'm worried about the effect this will have on our communities unless something radical is done. 

Rhun, you also wanted to intervene.