The Welsh Government’s proposed cuts to bus services will leave communities “stranded”, Plaid Cymru has warned.
Over three quarters of public transport journeys in Wales are bus journeys but the cash bus services receive from the Welsh Government is at risk - with no clear continuation of the Bus Emergency Scheme funding, which comes to an end in June 2023.
Earlier this week, the Welsh Government announced all major road building projects in Wales would be scrapped over environmental concerns, including the planned third Menai bridge.
With an aging rail infrastructure and the ban on new road building, Plaid Cymru transport spokesperson in the Senedd Delyth Jewell said that a net zero future and economic development was contingent on “widely available” bus and train services to link communities to one another.
On Wednesday, responding to a question by Ms Jewell, Deputy Minister for Transport, Lee Waters said there needs to be a "reconfiguring" of bus networks due to a change in passenger behaviour.
"There are fewer older people travelling. There are more leisure journeys than there are commuting journeys," he said.
Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport Natasha Asghar said the Welsh Government will be "stripping away a much-needed cash lifeline".
Plaid Cymru spokesperson for Energy, Climate Change and Transport, Delyth Jewell MS said: “"As it stands, the Labour Welsh government's cut to public transport will leave people stranded."
"If we want to commit to a net-zero future - which we must do, for the sake of our planet and our own well-being, then we must ensure that bus and train services are widely available to link communities to one another."