The Welsh Government are being called on to subsidise even further bus and rail travel to keep people out of transport poverty. A Senedd committee says more subsidies are needed to encourage people to use public transport.
Rail and bus operators in Wales already receive hundreds of millions in subsidies. In the 2022-3 financial year, £654.53m is budgeted for Transport for Wales although the bulk of this is to fund the South Wales Metro and only part to subsidise ongoing train services. Previous Wales and Borders franchise holders received more than £100m a year in subsidies for rail services.
According to the Senedd's Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee’s latest report, which looks at the future of bus and rail travel in Wales, the Welsh Government needs to do more to encourage people to use public transport. The committee also found that the poorest areas of Wales – often those most dependent on public transport - were the areas hit hardest by reductions in bus services.
Passenger numbers for bus and train services in Wales are 30-35% below pre-pandemic levels. This was mainly down to more people working from home rather than commuting. But the Committee heard that the decision to drastically reduce services because of Covid-19 has also contributed to the drop in users and that many of the bus routes or rail services that were stopped have not returned.
Read more: Why is Wales missing out on the UK's biggest-ever rail infrastructure spending spree?
Bus services in Wales declined by 36% between March 2020 and March 2021 and rural areas saw the biggest percentage reduction. Academics at the University of South Wales also found the decline in access to services by bus was greatest in the most deprived areas of Wales, further disadvantaging those communities.
What is transport poverty?
Transport poverty, which is when a household spends more than 10% of their income on travel, has become increasingly prevalent with the increase in fuel prices and the rise of bus and train fares in recent years. A key recommendation from the committee's report urges the Welsh Government to provide support to people who are living in transport poverty as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.
The committee heard evidence that transport poverty affects some groups disproportionately. Those particularly affected include disabled people – who make up a quarter of bus passengers – as well as older people and women.
Many people would like to use public transport but are put off by a whole range of different issues. Joseph Lewis, who lives in Cardiff, said that a lot of different factors contribute to him not using public transport as much as he used to. “These days you can often choose to meet online; especially for work," he said. "If I’m faced with buying multiple tickets from different transport providers for different bus or train journeys, dealing with the lack of information at bus stops and then the price on top of it all, then I’m not going to bother. It’s simpler, easier, and cheaper to go in the car or do it online instead.
“Some journeys are reasonable, for example, the cost wasn’t too bad when I had a weekly ticket for a commute. But then other trips can be quite expensive which makes the cost disproportionate. I definitely feel like the price has gone up in recent years. I want to be able to use public transport - I like the experience generally - but there are lots of things that put me off.”
Wales currently has a creaking a unfit for purpose rail network with the lowest levels of electrification of any UK nation. You can see WalesOnline's special report showing how the UK Government's decision to class HS2 as a Wales project has meant Cymru has missed out on £5bn of additional funding here.
Use other countries as inspiration
To make bus and rail travel more appealing, the committee has urged the Welsh Government to look at and learn from the examples set by other countries. Specific mention was made of Germany, where a recent experiment allowed a month’s unlimited travel on regional train networks, trams and buses for only €9; and also references Spain, who have introduced free travel on short and medium distance trains run by the national rail operator.
Llyr Gruffydd MS, chair of the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, said: “An efficient, popular bus and rail network is crucial for the Welsh economy and is especially important if the Welsh Government’s target of ‘net zero emissions by 2035’ is to be achieved. The drive to get more people to use public transport has stalled due to the pandemic and this isn’t being helped by cutbacks. It’s unacceptable that it’s the poorest areas of Wales that have been hit hardest by reductions in bus services.
“Undoubtedly, the cost-of-living crisis will exacerbate the situation of many families who are already in transport poverty, and we believe that it’s imperative that the Welsh Government sets out how it will help people in this situation. Nothing should be off the table, including creative solutions like we have seen in Germany and Spain and which are now being promised for other parts of the UK.
“You can’t expect more people to use buses and trains if those services are inconvenient and expensive. We’re urging the Welsh Government to listen and to act on our recommendations if they are serious about encouraging more people to use public transport.”
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