COULD THIS BE WALES’ WORST BUS SERVICE?
IT’S fair to say bus services in Wales do not always enjoy the best of reputations. With lengthy waiting times and even short journeys sometimes taking hours to complete, it’s no surprise that fed-up passengers often speak ill of this vital public transport system.
Nowhere is this more true than in Blaenau Gwent, where residents have few alternative transport options save for an hourly train that runs through a few of its towns, and private taxi services which are far too expensive for most people’s daily needs.
Speaking at a full council meeting, Cllr Hedley McCarthy recently said the services in Blaenau Gwent “are a shambles” following the discontinuation of a route from the small village of Aberbeeg to its neighbouring town of Cwm – a distance of just three miles.
“It’s left Cwm with the worst bus service in the country,” he claimed.
In light of such damning remarks, I decided to take my own bus journey from Aberbeeg to Cwm to see what the service is really like, and took the opportunity to speak to passengers who rely on it along the way.
My first instincts upon using public transport for the first time in many years was that the service in itself isn’t too bad. When I was younger, Stagecoach busses tended to arrive on time, were reasonably clean and driven by polite and helpful drivers (the latter of which is very much still true today).
However, the lack of services and limited routes became a problem early on, as travelling to the nearby town of Cwm could not simply be done via the three-mile A406 connecting road, but instead took me on a near 15-mile detour up the valleys through Brynmawr and Ebbw Vale.
As I started my journey in Aberbeeg heading towards Brynmawr via the valleys towns of Blaina and Abertillery on the hourly X15, one group of passengers who were using the service were eager to tell me of their struggles with what had become a lengthy trip.
Hugh Hodgson, 56, and his partner Helen were travelling from Caerphilly borough to get to Ebbw Vale Hospital that day, but were already settling in for a long journey. He said: “I have an appointment today in Ebbw Vale Hospital, and while that won’t take long, getting the bus there and back will take up most of my day.
“Most likely it will have taken us over two hours each way by the time we get home, whereas a smaller connecting service across the Cwm road could potentially cut that time in half.”
Megan Schwank, 17, of Abertillery, also uses the service to make her journey to Ebbw Vale college each day, although she said the alteration of certain routes over the past year has almost doubled her journey time.
She said: “To be honest I’m in the situation where I can’t wait to start driving so I don’t have to use the bus to get to college every day.
“It used to be quite simple, as the old E3 and E4 buses did a circuit of the valley in both directions which made life so much easier.
“With one half of the valley cut off now though it’s made it very difficult for a lot of commuters and I think the general opinion is that they should bring those services back as soon as possible.”
After a brief stop over in Brynmawr, as well as a series of stops in Beaufort, Garnlydan and Rassau, I arrived in Ebbw Vale town where I changed to the E3 for the final leg of my journey to Cwm.
Overall it was a long and frustrating journey, taking a total of an hour and 55 minutes from the time I got on the bus in Aberbeeg to when I arrived.
Considering the journey back on top of that, it’s no surprise that people from certain areas are complaining about the lack of bus options in Blaenau Gwent.
Andrea Jones lives in Rassau but travels here to see her father in Cwm every day. She said: “People here are very upset about the state of the current bus service from Cwm, and with only one bus coming in and out of the village every hour up to Ebbw Vale, who could blame them?
“There’s nothing at all for them going down the valley and they have been cut off from getting to places like Cwmbran and Newport if they don’t have a car, and I think it is very unfair.”
Former bus driver of 47 years Cllr
Derick Bevan, 78, also lives in Cwm and said the service had gone downhill recently.
He explained: “The bus service in Cwm is non-existent at the moment and for people who don’t drive it’s a real shame.
“The service in Cwm could well be one of the worst in the country but there’s an overall issue with the service right across the borough.
“There are basically no services available if you want to get anywhere on a Sunday, and from what I’ve heard from elderly residents in the fflecsi bus zone, they are finding it very difficult to use that service as well.”
Cllr Hedley McCarthy said something had to be done to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
He said: “The bus service around many parts of the borough just isn’t working at the moment, and for anyone travelling on certain routes or at certain times that is blatantly obvious.
“The connection from this half of the valley to Cwm and Ebbw Vale is pretty much non-existent, and any travel to places such as the hospital, college, or even the village of Cwm itself is very difficult now.
“The most frustrating thing is that Cwm is only actually around three miles away from places like Aberbeeg, but since they altered the services that connected the two areas using the Cwm road, travelling that distance by bus has become a very long day out.
“It’s bad for people in Aberbeeg and Llanhilleth, but it’s even worse for those in Cwm who want to go for a day out in places like Newport or Cwmbran, and I feel sorry for the residents over there who have basically been cut off.”
A spokesperson from Stagecoach in South Wales said: “As with many industries across the country, we are continuing to face a short-term staffing situation that is out of our control due to Covid-related absence and external factors affecting the wider transport and logistics sector.
“As a result, we have made some timetable changes to Services E3 and X15 to improve the reliability of key services and keep passengers connected across our most popular routes.
“Following customer and staff feedback and working closely with Blaenau Gwent council, Service X15 has been extended to allow a direct route between Ebbw Vale, Rassau, Blaenau Gwent Learning Zone, Garnlydan, Brynmawr, Ebbw Fach Valley, Crosskeys College and Newport.
“From February 6, there’ll be an additional morning journey from Abertillery to Ebbw Vale and a journey from Abertillery to Brynmawr to connect with Service X4 to Blaenau Gwent Learning Zone on college days.
“Due to the landslip on A4046 Cwm to Aberbeeg in early 2020, Service E3 operated from the north of Cwm to the Ebbw Fach valley and Aberbeeg. Stagecoach Service X15 and Phil Anslow Service X1 already provided bus services between Aberbeeg and Brynmawr; therefore Services X15 and E3 have been merged between these areas. Stagecoach Service E3 now operates from Ebbw Vale to Cwm and from February 6 will also serve Victoria.
“fflecsi Blaenau Gwent operates more than 16 hours a day from Monday-Saturday around Ebbw Vale, Rassau, Garnlydan, Brynmawr, Abertillery and Llanhilleth allowing customers to travel in and around Ebbw Vale and connect with the longer distance bus network. Customers can book on the fflecsi app.
“We will continue to work with the local authorities and keep our passengers regularly updated on our website and social media channels. We would like to thank all of our passengers for their patience.”
Blaenau Gwent council was contacted for comment.