Bethan Jenkins has always caught the bus to and from work but over the last few weeks she has had to meticulously plan her journey home, from Birchgrove to Bargoed, or risk being stranded. The 30-year-old told WalesOnline how her usual 86X service between Caerphilly and the University Hospital of Wales has been consistently cancelled every afternoon for the last three weeks.
She said: "I get the 86X from Caerphilly train station to Heath. It goes through Thornhill and Birchgrove and I work in Birchgrove so it's much easier for me to get the bus than the train. About three weeks ago they cancelled all the afternoon buses one day. They told us we can catch the 26 bus instead if we want to go to the hospital but that's no good for me as I don't work there.
"They did this the next day and the next day. On Monday it didn't run from 1.30pm to 7pm. Every day for the last three weeks I've had to find out how I am getting home from work - sometimes it is dark and the weather has been bad recently. I either walk 15 minutes to get the 26 bus, get my sister to pick me up or walk around 30 minutes to the train station. Often the 26 turns up slightly early and you miss it so you need to wait an hour for the next. It's so frustrating."
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On top of that Bethan said, like many regular bus users, she pays daily for a bus pass - and now often pays more on top of that to get home when her usual bus doesn't turn up. She said: "I pay about £9 a day for my south Wales pass. Then I am missing the bus and having to spend money on top of it to get home. It's getting frustrating. They don't seem to care or think about how many people rely on these services."
As frustrating as Bethan's story sounds, unfortunately it's far from rare. More and more people across Wales are finding their lifeline bus journeys cancelled and delayed - sometimes at the very last minute. The issue has caused severe disruption for those who rely on buses to get to work, to appointments and to see loved ones.
It is a Welsh Government aim and "priority" for 45% of journeys to be made by "sustainable modes" such as via public transport and active travel by 2040, according to the Wales Transport Strategy 2021. The idea is to get more people off the road in an effort to reduce Wales' carbon emissions.
However, with many like Bethan experiencing daily disruption, the idea of catching a bus is less appealing now than it was a few years ago. In February, WalesOnline spoke to passengers at Merthyr Tydfil bus station who slammed the "shambolic" bus service operated in the town by Stagecoach. One man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he had lost hundreds of pounds in wages in the preceding weeks due to being late for his job in Cardiff. Passenger Tammy-Leigh Ashton said she had missed scans and doctor's appointments because of the problem.
There are a number of factors at play which have contributed to unreliable services in Wales. In February for example, the Trades Union Congress said "the impacts of Brexit and poor working conditions across the sector" led to an estimated shortage of 4,000 bus drivers in the UK.
The coronavirus pandemic also harmed staff morale when some bus drivers had their pay frozen all the while being key workers and putting their lives at risk to do their jobs. Coronavirus also saw the lifestyles of bus users change - possibly forever - as more people than ever started working from home and now no longer need to commute. This has increased pressure on fare-paying passengers and the public purse to sustain the network.
During the pandemic the Welsh Government started the Bus Emergency Scheme which aims to help bus companies sustain their vital service despite the decline in customers. This was initially due to end in March 2023, but in February it was extended until June 30, 2023. Although any extension is welcome, it has left some bus companies worrying what state the industry will be in when that cash is withdrawn.
A Welsh Government spokesperson told WalesOnline that the government recognises it "needs to do things differently" in order to sustain and improve bus services in Wales. He said: "Since the beginning of the pandemic we have provided more than £150m emergency funding to the bus industry to maintain vital bus services and networks.
“When we confirmed an initial three month extension of funding last month, we made clear that we need to start to transition away from this emergency style of funding. We need to do things differently and our bus white paper is a key step towards introducing legal powers to deliver a new model for running buses in Wales. This is a chance for us to deliver better connected services and we will continue to work closely with local authorities, operators and other partners - including Transport for Wales - to build a strong and sustainable bus network for Wales.”
But how are bus companies throughout Wales handling the industry's pressures? We asked bus providers across the country to share their side of the story. Here's what they said:
Stagecoach
The company, which serves parts of south and east Wales including Caerphilly and Merthyr Tydfil, said they are currently facing a "vehicle situation" relating to maintenance.
A spokesperson said: “We are currently facing a short-term vehicle situation due to unforeseen maintenance requirements. Our teams are working incredibly hard to ensure the vast majority of local services are running and to keep passengers connected across our most popular routes.
"We will continue to keep our passengers regularly updated on our website and social media channels and are working hard to resume full service across all areas as quickly as possible, giving advance notice of any planned alterations to our services in the meantime. We would like to thank all of our passengers for their patience.”
Newport Bus
Scott Pearson is the managing director of Newport Bus and the chairman of the Coach and Bus Association Cymru. Speaking to WalesOnline, he said although the company is experiencing minimal staffing issues at present, he is concerned for the summer when government funding is set to end.
He said: "We don't have as many issues as others, however emergency funding is coming to an end on June 30. We are working with the Welsh Government to find solutions, but with the funding ending it is challenging to get around that.
"In terms of drivers, we have worked hard to empower our staff and make them feel welcome. We have done a variety of things to help with that which means we haven't got the same issues faced by other bus companies. For example we started a staff shuttle bus to get our drivers to and from work which means they don't need a car to work here and can save money."
He said he hopes the Welsh Government will work alongside bus operators to devise a long-term plan in order to save the industry. "The challenge now is funding," he said. "When that ends on June 30, we will have no support or help. There are pots of money there that can be used and we would like to see the funding extended for at least 12 months while we work alongside the Welsh Government on a long-term plan."
He explained how the industry and bus users have been affected by the pandemic. He said: "Coronavirus had an impact on the industry and it hasn't fully recovered. We have increased to around 85% of pre-Covid customers. A lot of people changed lifestyles with many working from home and a lot of [bus users] also died. Therefore, it is unlikely the industry will return to 100% of its pre-covid customers. However, buses are still a life-line for so many people. We understand there are challenges and issues we need to work around, but you can't just pull the plug and expect everyone to cope. People rely on buses for work, leisure, school, [and appointments]."
First Cymru
First Cymru provides buses in south and west Wales. A spokesman for the company said they had experienced recruitment difficulties in the last year, which has led to a backlog of new drivers needing to be trained.
The spokesman said: "First Cymru have, like most other bus operators, faced a recruitment challenge in the last 12 months and you'll have seen the steps we've taken to reach out and recruit new drivers and that is going really well. But our top-class training takes time and our training department is working hard to get as many bus drivers on the road as possible. We operate over 100 services across the south of Wales and see around 300,000 passengers use our buses every week.
"During this time, our management teams have worked to ensure that any impacted or cancelled service does not fall disproportionately on any one community, and we've made sure to post regular updates so passengers are kept informed and can choose other services in advance when necessary. We are really proud, however, that we've been able to minimise the impact felt by our customers given the challenges we’ve faced.
"We do absolutely understand how important the bus service is to people's daily lives and want to continue highlighting bus travel as a convenient and green way to travel."
Arriva
The company, which operates buses in north Wales, said roadworks across the region had impacted its services, leading to a number of re-routes.
A spokesman for the company said: "We have experienced the continued negative impact of ongoing roadworks across our Arriva Wales network in recent months – particularly around/on the Menai Bridge, A55 roadworks and across Abergele. Added to this, we have had to reroute services in a number of areas due to indiscriminate parking which has caused health and safety problems for both our drivers and our customers. This has been particularly relevant along our service 11 route in Ffynnongroyw.
"Finally, we are not currently experiencing driver shortage related issues and we have a continuous focus on driver & engineering recruitment and training across the region."
Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus has been contacted for comment.
TrawsCymru
TrawsCymru has been contacted for comment.
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