Sunday bus services face the axe after funding cut (From Western Telegraph)

Sunday bus services face the axe after funding cut

2:10pm Saturday 25th August 2012 in News

A series of Pembrokeshire bus services face the axe, the Western Telegraph can reveal.

A 27% cut to the local transport services grant, paid to Pembrokeshire County Council , means that 17 evening and Sunday services may be stopped by operators at the end of September.

The Welsh Government grant provides funding for the county council to finance a range of transport initiatives, including funding for bus services.

Although alternative bus and rail services are available to replace some routes, the withdrawal of some services may leave several areas without any public transport on Sundays.

These include the 411 Fishguard-St Davids-Haverfordwest and the 412 Cardigan- Fishguard-Haverfordwest services.

Subsidies for the Sunday summer services including the Coastal Cruiser, Puffin Shuttle, Celtic Coaster, Strumble Shuttle and Poppit Rocket, have also been withdrawn by the county council.

The only service that will continue to run without subsidy is the 362 Pembroke Dock-Pennar- Pembroke CS School.

Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman Len Mullins said: “This cut invariably has an effect on bus services in the county and funding for a number of routes is proposed to be removed.

“These are mainly Sunday services with a history of low patronage.

“Bus operators will have to make a commercial decision on the future of the services they provide,” he added.

A local bus driver, who did not want to be named, said: “Cutting the Sunday service would mean that I will lose 38 to 40 hours work per month, which is a week’s work.

“Not only that, places in Pembrokeshire that have no alternative train service will be left without any public transport on Sundays at all.

“People use the service to go to work on a Sunday, or go on the coastal path. It will make a big difference to a lot of people.”