Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds has called on the Welsh Government to protect and invest in bus services, with cutbacks in rural areas having “huge ramifications for our communities.”

A motion calling on the Welsh Government to protect and invest in bus services was held in the Senedd on 4 October.

It followed increasing concern over the sustainability and future of bus services, with figures showing that up to a quarter of all bus routes in Wales were under threat.

Ms Dodds accused ministers of “stringing bus services along” and being “too slow to act on its long-awaited reform of bus services.”

Ms Dodds said: ““For months, Welsh Government have strung communities and bus operators along with last-minute and short-term announcements around the funding of bus services. What’s more, the long-awaited reforms to bus services still look no closer to being delivered.

“Over recent weeks and months, vital services like the Fflecsi Bwcabus in rural areas has been axed, and more than 10 per cent of bus services have seen major revisions, with huge ramifications for our communities.

“Meanwhile the idea of scrapping the Manchester leg of HS2 means that new services will come nowhere near Wales. Any notion of HS2 being of any benefit to Wales is an absolute joke.

“The Conservatives are running out of excuses to withhold £5bn in infrastructure spending for Wales and, by sitting on their hands, Labour Ministers are watching bus services fail.

“Communities and operators need urgent clarity about Welsh Government plans and a crystal clear timeline to deliver the changes and improvements we all want to see in our bus services.”