Will the Minister explain why no funding has been awarded to reinstate the T19 bus service as part of the local transport fund schemes in 2023-24 and 2024-25?
Answered by Deputy Minister for Climate Change | Answered on 19/10/2023
The Local Transport Fund provides capital funding to projects which deliver the vision and priorities of the Welsh Transport Strategy. Bus services require revenue funding and so are not eligible for the Fund.
The T19 was a commercial service and we were disappointed by the operator’s decision to cancel it despite BES funding being available at the time. The Welsh Government has successfully sustained the bus industry over the past 2 years through the Bus Emergency Scheme and current Bus Transition Fund.