Local Transport Grants For Schemes To Be Funded in 2019–2020

Madam,

A recent Cambrian News article on 2 June 2019 referred to £10,000 allocated by the Welsh Government for a bus interchange in Dolgellau and £500,000 being spent on improving the T2 and T5 TrawsCymru routes.

These figures are from a total value of 63 million in local transport grants awarded to each Local Authority for schemes to be funded in 2019–2020 .There is a very clear North/South divide in funding and £48 million has been awarded to South Wales from the total of £63 million (76%). 50% of the £63 million will be spent on Active Travel Schemes (pedestrian / cycles).

Ceredigion will receive just over £1 million of the £63 million (1.7% of the allocation to 22 Local Authorities). There are some notable winners and the top four Local Authorities include the AM constituencies of the First Minister (Cardiff) and the Transport Minister (Flintshire) The top four Councils will receive 46.8% of the funding with grant values of Flintshire (£5.5 million, 8.7%), Swansea (£5.5 million,: 8.7%), Merthyr Tydfil (£7.7 million, 12.2%), Cardiff (£10.8 million, 17.2%)..The half a million figure being spent in Cardiff for “”On Street Cycle Hire”” is 50% of the TOTAL Transport Grant funding allocation for Ceredigion. Bridgend Local Authority (AM constituency of the previous First Minister) dropped back to 6th place.(£3.7 million, 5.9%).

The article on 2 June 2019 quotes Gwynedd Council as being tight lipped regarding the £10,000 allocated for a bus interchange in Dolgellau. This is not surprising when you recognise that £10,000 is a pittance compared to the sums being spent elsewhere eg Bus Stop Infrasructure Enhancement (Blaenau Gwent £150,000, Caerphilly £281,000), Town Centre Walking and Cycling Improvements (Monmouthshire-Caldicot, Abergavenny, Monmouth £783,000), Local – Pembroke Dock Active Travel Package of Schemes £500,000, Cardiff (Strategic – Cardiff Cycle Superhighways £2,507,000), Flintshire (Cycling links Deeside industrial estate £950,000, and.Broughton to Saltney Cycle Way £702,000)..

With respect to the £10,000 allocated for a bus interchange in Dolgellau, the sum is clearly inadequate and perhaps this might reflect the fact that the Welsh Government have finally recognised that Trawscymru T2 services should not be waiting in Eldon Square for 15 minutes to wait for late running T3 services from Wrexham. Perhaps the Welsh Government have decided that the 15 minute waits in Dolgellau will be abandoned, (as the 15 minute waits are solely for the benefit of the Transport Ministers AM constituents from South Clwyd on the late running T3 services from Wrexham and the 15 minute waits destroy connections between T2 and T1 services in Aberystwyth). Perhaps the Welsh Government are paying lip service to the provision of a bus interchange in Dolgellau. Perhaps the Welsh Government are considering following the Bevan Review recommendation of 2014 and carrying out the Trawscymru review commissioned by the present Transport Minister in October 2017. The T3 service was recommended to run from Wrexham to Aberystwyth to connect with the T1 to Carmarthen and the T5 to Cardigan/Fishguard

The £500,000 being spent on improving the T2 and T5 TrawsCymru routes, (which is 50% of the Ceredigion funding), is deliberately vague. The problem in Aberystwyth is with connections between the T2 and T1 and not with the T5. This problem is due to poor route design for the T3 Wrexham to Barmouth Service (resulting in late running services), the use of 15 minute waits for the T2 in Dolgellau and delayed departures under a Quality Partnership scheme. This problem does not require expenditure – it requires a review of the bus routes and a review of the timetables. The perfect example is the last T2 arrival of the day in Aberystwyth which was changed in January 2018 to arrive at 18.50 instead of 18.40. This was said by the Welsh Government to be necessary because of the tree felling operations near Corris and the change would be reviewed when felling was completed. This was nonsense as the T2 travelled through Corris after tree felling stopped each day. The tree felling has been completed for more than 6 months and the timetable has not been reviewed. This last T2 of the day from Bangor now sits for 15 minutes in Dolgellau followed by a further 10 minutes in Machynleth, the net result being that the T2 cannot possibly connect with the last T1 departure from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen at 18.40.

The £500,000 being spent on improving the T2 and T5 TrawsCymru routes (? what is it being spent on ?) will not attract one single extra passenger unless the poor connectivity between services through Aberystwyth is addressed.

Yours etc,

Dr John Mctighe,

Llanrhystud