Bus firm Stagecoach has said some of its bus services in Caerphilly County Borough will be axed because of public spending cuts by the Welsh Government.
Wales’ largest bus operator has announced plans to close its Brynmawr depot from July this year. The company is currently consulting with trade union representatives over the potential impact on jobs. Around 77 jobs are under threat at the depot.
The company has said number of services will be cut across its network from July 20 this year in Monmouthshire, Torfaen, Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taf. The company has said it does not have exact details of the cuts yet.
Stagecoach has claimed the depot closure and reduction in services are as a result of spending cuts by the Welsh Government.
In February this year, the Welsh Government confirmed a three-year funding package of £189m for its free bus travel scheme across Wales. The budget has been cut by more than 11% from the £213.3m package provided over the past three years.
The scheme provides free travel to more than 720,000 concessionary pass holders in Wales, including armed forces’ personnel and veterans. Under the scheme, bus operators in Wales should be reimbursed for the full costs of participating in the compulsory scheme.
John Gould, Managing Director of Stagecoach in South Wales, said: “We have warned the Welsh Government for months that these misguided cuts would impact severely on people who rely on the bus and on bus workers.
“They have not listened and now sadly local people will feel the effects of their decisions.
“Ministers’ actions are now directly responsible for potential job losses and placing entire areas at risk of being cut off from bus services. We will keep fighting for the rights of bus passengers in Wales but sadly it is impossible to continue delivering the same level of services for passengers when we are seeing cut after cut in investment in local bus services.
“The result is that some of our routes are not sustainable and we have to act in order to ensure we can continue to deliver services for customers across the rest of our network over the long-term.
Mr Gould added: “In the current economic climate, the Welsh Government should be supporting public transport which many people use to access jobs, education, health and leisure facilities. Instead, they have pulled the rug out from underneath the feet of passengers and bus employees.
“We remain fully committed to providing high-quality bus services in South Wales. The measures we have announced are an absolute last resort and it is with deep regret that we have had to take these decisions. We will now consult with staff and trade unions, looking at every option available to minimise the number of employees affected by this.”
Last month Stagecoach said it would consider legal action over the way the Welsh Government decided to cut £24m from the concessionary scheme’s budget.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The new reimbursement rate for bus operators was set following an independent review to ensure operators such as Stagecoach were ‘no better and no worse off’ by taking part.
“As yet, Stagecoach has not formally informed Welsh government of the threatened closure or service cuts.”
Caerphilly AM Jeff Cuthbert said he has written to Stagecoach to request a meeting over the potential cuts to services.
He said: “The Welsh Government budget is continuing to be slashed in real terms by the Tory-led UK Government.
“It’s precisely because of this that very difficult decisions have had to be made. Continuing harsh settlements from the Tory-led UK Government will only make it harder for the Welsh Government to invest in public services and I would have hoped this would have been acknowledged by Stagecoach.
“It is also worth pointing out that the level of the Welsh Government’s Bus Service Operator’s Grant (BSOG) is still generous compared to many places in England.
“I’ve written to Stagecoach as Caerphilly AM to request a meeting to discuss the impact bus service cuts will have on my constituents.”
Yet the Welsh Government can spend millions of pounds of tax payers money on Cardiff Airport and provide a free shuttle bus service to the airport which only has on average 4 passengers per journey – it smacks of hypocrisy.
WAG spent 52 million on cardiff airport and is paying for pinewood to come to wales so their excuses don’t wash.
In other words, what Stagecoach are really saying is…
“We have warned the Welsh Government for months that these misguided cuts would impact severely on our profits.
“They have not listened and now sadly local people will feel the effects of our greed.
“Ministers’ actions are now directly responsible for potential job losses and placing entire areas at risk of being cut off from bus services. We will keep fighting for our profits in Wales but sadly it is impossible to continue delivering the same level of profit for shareholders when we are seeing cut after cut in subsidies for our bus services.
“The result is that some of our routes are not profitable and we have to act in order to ensure we can continue to deliver profits for shareholders across the board over the long-term.
Mr Gould added: “In the current economic climate, the Welsh Government should be supporting our business, which many people use to access jobs, education, health and leisure facilities. Instead, they have pulled the rug out from underneath the feet of us. Some services are no longer profitable and we have taken the decision to axe them.
“We remain fully committed to providing low-quality bus services in South Wales on buses that have seen better days. The measures we have announced are absolutely vital and it is with no regret that we have had to take these decisions to maintain profits.We will now consult with staff and trade unions, looking at every option available to minimise the number of employees affected by this. Even though we don’t really care.”
Cut the claptrap, Stagecoach. I’m in business too. I know it’s an operating decision motivated by your want to maintain profits. It’s simply not worthwhile running services that are loss making. I understand that.
Please…tell the truth clearly instead of placing the guilt blame on the WA.