12 October 2023 , 09:20
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A brand new multi-million pound bus station in Barry has been left deserted, with no buses set to service it. Vale of Glamorgan Council confirmed the disappointing news about the Barry Transport Interchange, which was built to boost connectivity in the area and currently features a taxi rank, bike shelters and bus stops.
Cllr Ian Johnson, leader of the Plaid Cymru group at Vale of Glamorgan Council, slammed the project as a waste of public money in its current state. He said: "Vale of Glamorgan Council officers have done very well in ensuring that the bus station has been built, but there's no point in a bus station with no buses."
Bus companies across Wales are currently facing challenges due to reduced funding and recovering passenger numbers in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many services have recently been changed or cut altogether.
He added: "There is nothing new about the drop in passengers following Covid-19, and that was known well before the construction of the bus station earlier this year. This is a major multi-million pound project that will not be used at any time soon for the reason it was built. That is a waste of public money at a time when the Labour Council are telling us to get ready for large scale cuts."
Cllr Bronwen Brooks at the bus station (Copyright Unknown)Construction on phase one of Barry Transport Interchange started in January, 2023, and electric car charging points will soon be connected to the site. Adventure Travel's number 88 bus service was originally supposed to take passengers to and from the new interchange, but it has since been withdrawn.
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Vale of Glamorgan Council said in April that Cardiff Bus was considering which of its services could operate at the interchange. The company later announced that it was also withdrawing and making changes to a number of its services from September and no services were shown to be set to operate at Barry Transport Interchange in updated timetables.
During a Vale of Glamorgan Council meeting on September 25, Cllr Ian Johnson questioned the cabinet members about their discussions with other authorities and the Welsh Government to secure future funding for bus services. In response, Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet member for neighbourhood and building services, Cllr Mark Wilson, said: "We have regular meetings with our fellow cabinet members to discuss this and we lobby Welsh Government, along with other local authorities, to get a bigger chunk of available funding."
A spokesperson for the Vale of Glamorgan Council stated: "Unfortunately, the interchange has been completed at a very difficult time for the bus industry. Reductions in government funding, reduced post-pandemic passenger numbers, and a shortage of drivers have all contributed to reductions in bus services."
"In the short term the new interchange will be used for Transport for Wales rail replacement services while upgrades to the local train network are undertaken. The council is also in discussions with local bus providers to see if the new interchange can be incorporated into any existing routes."
"In the long term, as new residential developments in the area are completed, we anticipate that there will be a commercial interest from the local bus operators that currently serve Barry and we still expect the interchange to come into regular use. This is only one aspect of the council's work to support bus services in the Vale."
"Since April, the council has increased spending on local bus services by more than £100,000, taking our total investment this year to around £500,000. This funding has been used to provide bus services where companies do not operate on a commercial basis, including the rural Vale, and to pay operators to run services that we know are valued by the community in the evening and on weekends."
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