NEWPORT Bus has announced changes to its timetable with new evening and Sunday services and routes outside of Newport.

The changes will come into effect from Monday, April 1, following the end of the Welsh Government’s pandemic transition fund.

It means the cost of running buses must be covered by fares, something which is already the case for most services, Newport Bus says. In these cases, there will be, at most, minor changes.

The Welsh Government is providing extra funding to councils for supported bus routes which has resulted in the creation of new routes and other changes.

This includes a new Sunday service between Newport, Chepstow and Monmouth.

The Newport Bus 60 and X60 services will largely run every hour on weekdays. On Saturday, the timetable is coordinated with a new 68 service between Monmouth and Abergavenny with a combined frequency of almost one per hour.

On Sunday, the service will link at Monmouth with the new service 69.

The new timetable also expands the 30 service between Newport and Cardiff. The late 9.15pm service from Newport and 10.10pm from Cardiff will run Monday to Saturday rather than only Friday and Saturday.

The X30 service will leave Newport at 6.31am, as opposed to 6.50am, following requests for an earlier arrival at the University Hospital of Wales.

At the end of the day, there will also be new journeys at 6.30pm from Newport and 7.25pm from Heath hospital.

Newport Bus will also replace services from Stagecoach and Adventure Travel in Risca.

For the 29 and 29A services between Newport and Cwmbran, the operator has also announced journeys which leave Newport at 11pm from Monday to Saturday and go as far as Lodge Farm in Caerleon, and an 11.17pm service from Caerleon which goes as far as Clarence Place.

This service has been introduced for a trial period of six months following requests.

Newport Bus said: "If you are a business along the route that can help promote our service, please get in touch – we’d love to work with you."