Extra bus put on for stranded students, but will it last?

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Stagecoach has laid on an extra bus service in the morning for stranded students trying to make their way to Coleg y Cymoedd in Nantgarw.

From this morning onwards, Stagecoach will put on an extra bus for the 120X service from Caerphilly interchange at 8.23am. The company put on the extra bus after complaints from students and parents.

Student travel is paid for by Caerphilly County Borough Council, which issues travel cards for use on commercial services.

Plaid Cymru Aber Valley ward councillor John Roberts raised the issue with council officials, who in turn contacted Stagecoach.

He said: “There has been overcrowding and students from my area and Penyrheol have been arriving for lessons late because the only bus running was packed full. In fact, one parent said their son hadn’t been on time once for college.

“During the pandemic, the college laid on temporary buses so the general public could use the normal service buses. But that stopped and with only one bus there has been overcrowding.”

He added: “I’m pleased action is being taken although I do wonder why this was not anticipated by the bus company earlier.”

Labour councillor Jamie Pritchard, of Morgan Jones, is also the cabinet member responsible for transport. He also raised the issue with council officials after receiving complaints.

Cllr Pritchard has written to Stagecoach Wales Managing Director Nigel Winter about the overall service to students heading to Nantgarw as the extra service won’t help students who start later in the day.

In the letter he said: “Have you considered patronage later in the day, or done any modelling on numbers to the
college to accommodate levels of pupils attending lectures in the late morning?”

Commercial service

A Caerphilly County Borough Council spokesperson said additional buses had previously been put on by Stagecoach because of social distancing rules – something no longer in force.

They said: “These additional buses were not intended to meet any overcrowding demands. Due to the relaxation of social distancing requirements, Stagecoach have since removed these duplicate journeys across south Wales.

“After Stagecoach were made aware of issues of overcrowding they have since added an additional vehicle. This additional service is being operated on a commercial basis.”

Caerphilly Observer understands there is no requirement for Stagecoach to keep the extra bus operational – meaning the company can drop it if they feel there is no demand.

The company is also under no obligation to tell the council it is doing this. How this squares with the use of public money to pay for the student travel passes is unclear.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach said the company was working with the council on a long-term solution to improve the service.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach South Wales said: “Our teams are working incredibly hard to ensure we continue to run the vast majority of our timetabled services and we remain focused on prioritising the services we know are most important for our customers. It was brought to our attention [last] week that there were some delays to service 120 to Nantgarw College. We have worked with Caerphilly County Borough Council and agreed to provide a duplicate bus.