A DELEGATION may travel down from Blaenau Gwent to Cardiff Bay to discuss “the shambles” of a bus service in the county borough.

At a meeting of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council on Thursday, January 25, councillors looked at a report on the performance of the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal during 2020 and up to the middle of 2021.

Cllr Hedley McCarthy, who represents Llanhilleth, told councillors that the bus service from Cwm to Aberbeeg had recently been discontinued.

Cllr McCarthy said: “It’s left Cwm with the worst bus service in the country and my constituents in a position if they want to travel two miles to Cwm they have a 55-minute journey.”

He believed this would affect older people who needed to get to hospital appointments on time.

Cllr McCarthy said: “Have we been told or consulted about this?

“This is just unacceptable, bus services in Blaenau Gwent are a shambles, can we do something about it?

“Can we make representations to the Welsh Government?

“They are now supposed to be responsible for transport, perhaps it’s time they repealed the 1986 (sic) Transport Act and re-regulated the buses because this situation isn’t working.”

The Transport Act of 1985 introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government privatised and deregulated bus services throughout the UK and came into effect in October 1986.

Deputy council leader and portfolio holder for regeneration and economic development, Cllr Dai Davies said: “I totally agree.

“We should, never have de-nationalised the service in the first place, and I’d be the first to support that (renationalising).

“There’s been conversation in the last week or so with Stagecoach around bus services in general and we are looking to see what we can do to renegotiate some of our routes.

“A lot of our transport work is done through Torfaen, and it becomes a three-way conversation.

“We need to also speak to other providers across the borough to have that joined up thinking.

“I would welcome approaching the Welsh Government. Perhaps we could go down together.”

Cllr Derrick Bevan who has 47 years experience working for bus companies and represents the ward of Cwm, said: “If there is a meeting about the buses I would like to be involved.”

Committee chairman, Cllr Julie Holt told Cllr Bevan to get in touch with Cllrs McCarthy and Davies after the meeting.

The report was noted by councillors.