A hospital bus link cancelled by the Labour Government should be restored according to a Plaid Cymru Senedd Member.

Peredur Owen Griffiths MS said it was an injustice that there was no direct bus service to The Grange hospital from Caerffili County Borough. He also called for a direct service to be run from Blaenau Gwent and Monmouthshire.

The hospital in Llantarnam, Cwmbran, is the main district hospital for Caerffili County Borough Council as well as Blaenau Gwent and Monmouthshire.

The Labour Government briefly funded a pilot direct bus route from Blackwood bus station to The Grange in July of last year but it was pulled from the schedule after six months. 

The then Deputy Transport Minister – Lee Waters – admitted that the trial should probably have run for longer when put on the spot by Peredur over the decision to cancel the service.

Peredur said: “We have had a new hospital put in a location where a majority of the people it serves find difficult to get to.

“It is not the easiest journey by car if you live in the furthest reaches of Blaenau Gwent, Caerffili County Borough or Monmouthshire but if you rely on public transport it becomes a mammoth effort.

“In some of the communities I represent in South Wales East, there is relatively low car ownership. People rely on public transport, particularly buses.

“If they want to get to The Grange for an appointment or to visit someone, they are faced with multiple bus changes and an expensive fare just to go one way.

“That is deeply unfair and punishes most those who have the least.

“This is why I am calling on the Labour Government to make up for lost time and sort out the direct public transport links that should have been ready and in place for when the hospital first opened in 2020.

“It should be one of the first things they consider sorting out as part of their forthcoming Bus Bill.”

If you want to support Plaid Cymru and Peredur, please click this link.