As many of you may know, the Welsh Government has brought forward its long-awaited Bus Bill which fundamentally changes the way that busses will be run in Wales.
This legislation will essentially bring buses under public control, allowing 'Transport for Wales' and Councils to decide which services are provided then offered to bus companies to bid for.
For too long, inadequate, and unreliable bus services have restricted the movement of many in Wales particularly the elderly and most vulnerable living in rural communities. Our young people are also being affected, with many struggling to access education or employment so there is a need for change, but is the proposed franchise model the right one?
Changing the model of bus transport alone will not improve the issues that passengers face, namely the reliability, punctuality and speed of bus journeys which are too often hindered by congestion. These fundamental issues also need to be addressed by Government as part of this bill. We will scrutinise this legislation strongly as I am concerned this franchise model will be hugely expensive to implement and operate with additional costs ultimately falling on council taxpayers.
Whilst we need improved public services, we also need continued investment in our road network. However, there is little sign of improvement in this area with the quality of our roads far below what we would expect, with potholes probably worse than they have ever been.
The Labour Welsh Government need to get to grips with both the state of our roads and the congestion on them. They need to commit to long term and strategic investment with much needed projects like the Chepstow Bypass being picked up again and taken forward and the M4 relief road being revisited.
These are projects that could have been progressing, but Welsh Labour has turned its back on these projects and many others across Wales. Every year that goes by without action is another year that our roads get ever more congested strangling our economy and our communities.
The Welsh Conservatives will ensure that our road network is fit for purpose, building the necessary infrastructure that Wales needs to get moving.
Peter Fox MS - Monmouth
