STAGECOACH WELCOMES BUS TRANSITION FUNDING
- Martin Gibbon, South Wales Managing Director, welcomes £46m funding announcement
- Stagecoach announces changes to services to reflect customer travel patterns
Stagecoach South Wales have welcomed the Welsh Government’s announcement that the Bus Transition funding will be available for bus services for the whole financial year.
The Bus Transition Fund, developed collaboratively by Local Authorities, Welsh Government, Transport for Wales and the industry will replace the Bus Emergency Scheme which comes to an end on 24 July.
The Welsh Government is making £46m available from bus budgets to support BES and the Bus Transition Fund arrangements. The funding will provide immediate financial support to bus operators in Wales so that vital services can continue.
The funding available will ensure that the majority of Stagecoach current services will be protected although some services may change to reflect customer demand and different travel patterns following the pandemic.
There will be planned service and timetables changes from 23 July across the Stagecoach South Wales operating areas. Most services will have changes to times to improve the reliability of the timetable. The main changes are as follows;
Aberdare areas:
- Service 113 will now serve ASDA, there will be a re-routing in Cwmbach.
- Services 7 and 8 will merge, Service 8 will run from Aberdare, Penderyn, Rhigos to Glynneath.
- Services 60/61 will run up to every 20 minutes.
- Services 172 and 6 will merge, Service 172 will run from Merthyr Tydfil to Bridgend Monday to Saturday and from Aberdare to Porthcawl on Sunday only. Please see Traveline.Cymru for alternative services from Bridgend and Porthcawl on Monday to Saturday.
Blackwood areas:
- Service 9 Blackwood will no longer run. Please see Traveline.Cymru for alternative services.
Caerphilly areas:
- Service 26, 17:22 journey from Blackwood and 19:05 journey from Cardiff will be removed from the timetable. The service will now start and end at Greyfriars road, Cardiff.
Merthyr Tydfil areas:
- Service T14 Brecon to Merthyr will be re-introduced. Offering an up to hourly service between Pen-y-fan and the Brecon Beacons.
- Service 33 will run up to every hour.
- Service 25 will serve Cyfarthfa Shopping and extend to Pontsticill, offering access to the Brecon Beacons.
- Service 81 will run up to every hour.
- Service 97 will no longer run. There will be some connections on Service 78.
Rhondda Cynon Taf areas:
- Services 139 and 121 will merge, Service 121 will run up to every hour between Blaencwm, Cwmparc, Gelli, Tonypandy, Cae Glas.
- Service X32 will run at peak times to offer a direct bus to and from Cardiff.
- Service 120/130 will serve Blaenrhondda and Blaencwm alternatively and will only serve both early mornings, evenings and Sundays.
Torfaen areas:
- Service X3 will run from Cwmbran to Cardiff and will serve Pontypool in the morning and evening. The Service will now start and end at Greyfriars road, Cardiff.
- Service 23 will run from Newport to Hereford. The service will run up to every hour between Cwmbran and Newport on Sundays.
Full service details and timetables will be available on Stagecoachbus.com and Stagecoach will be communicating with all customers via the usual channels.
Martin Gibbon, Managing Director for Stagecoach South Wales said: “Bus services are vital for our local communities. They play a key role in delivering access to education, training and employment as well as enabling social inclusion and tackling the climate emergency. Without these services, many people would be unable to travel for work and leisure or visit family and friends.
The announcement of this ongoing funding will help us to design and plan our services for the future, and we will continue to work closely with the Welsh Government and local authorities to better understand the details of this extension and the impact on our services as we continue to help connect people, places and communities and encourage people to get back on the bus”.