Written Statement: The Bus Services (Wales) Bill

Today, the Bus Services (Wales) Bill and Explanatory Memorandum are laid before the Senedd. 

Buses are a vital public service enabling people to get to their places of work, to visit friends and family and to access services. They are a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable and isolated people in our society and the almost 20 per cent of Welsh households who do not have a car. 

However, the existing system for delivering local bus services is ineffective and inefficient and, as a result, it does not always deliver the public transport opportunities communities need. The bus network has been contracting for decades, a decline made much worse by the pandemic. Passenger numbers in some urban areas have recovered to some degree, but they remain largely below pre-pandemic levels. 

As part of our wider programme of bus reform and building on our Programme for Government commitment to create a modern legislative basis for transport in Wales, the Bill will mark a significant shift in the way Welsh local bus services are delivered. Transport for Wales, in consultation with local authorities and corporate joint committees, will establish a bus network that prioritises the needs of the people of Wales and supports our ambitious modal shift and carbon emissions targets.  

In summary the Bill:

• Ensures those local bus services that are required for the purpose of providing safe, integrated, sustainable, efficient and economic transport in Wales, are planned and coordinated on a national level in consultation with key partners, including local government and industry.
• Requires these services to be secured, as far as reasonably practicable, via local bus service contracts (franchising), direct provision, local bus service permits, or other exception specified in the Bill.
• Enables local authorities to create new municipal bus companies and enables existing local authority owned bus companies to continue their operations.
• Places a restriction on bus operators from running local bus services in Wales except where those services are provided under a contract, permit, directly via Transport for Wales or other exception specified in the Bill. The Bill will also enable sanctions to be imposed where services are operated in breach of this restriction.
• Requires bus operators and local authorities to share certain information with the Welsh Government, in order to effectively plan and manage the delivery of a modern integrated bus network.
• Ensures appropriate information is made available to the public to aid confidence and build patronage.
• Enables regulations to be made to apply the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 to certain circumstances arising out of the Bill.

I look forward to the scrutiny of the Bill by Members and to hearing the views of stakeholders, delivery partners and the public during the legislative process.