Socialist Party Wales Socialism In Wales
By Joe Fathallah (Cardiff West Socialist Party)
Hundreds of services could be cut from already meagre and expensive bus services in Wales as the Welsh government yet again passes on cuts from the Tory Westminster government while bus companies, either private or arms-length municipal companies that are run as if private, prioritise profit over service.
Socialist Party members have kicked off a campaign against cuts to Cardiff Bus services, proposed by the Labour council. This would mean losing vital routes used for commuting and access to community facilities.
Fares have been creeping up and up over the last few years. And Cardiff hasn’t had a central bus station since it closed in 2015.
Cardiff Bus is owned by the council, but is a separate entity, with its own management structure, and no mechanism in place to hold its board of directors accountable to any elected body. There has been a complete lack of community consultation and democratic input.
Whilst the council talks up the need to protect the environment, cuts to public transport are taking place right under our noses. The only effective way to reduce the number of vehicles on the road is to create a reliable and affordable public transport network – with full community consultation and involvement – to ensure a service which meets the needs of all the city’s residents.
The council claims that these cuts are a result of the withdrawal of post-pandemic support for public transport. However, we need councillors who are prepared to fight for the funding required for the services we need!
A large chunk of the UK government’s transport investment is being eaten up by the HS2 high-speed rail project. Current costs are over £40 billion, and some estimates project that this could more than double! We need representatives in the Senedd (Welsh parliament) willing to demand an adequate chunk of these funds.
At a local level, Cardiff Council is sitting on £134 million in reserves, or nearly £109 million, even if the ‘ringfenced’ housing fund is excluded! This could be used to buy time, whilst building a campaign for proper funding of public transport.
Socialist Party Wales calls for:
- An immediate halt to bus service cuts – and restore services already cut
- Bring all bus and rail services and infrastructure back into public ownership, into one integrated single-ticket bus and rail service
- Cheaper subsidised bus fares to attract passengers and lower car usage, as a step towards free bus travel
- A national agreement on wages and conditions for all bus workers in Wales
