Share your views on franchising the bus network
We want you to help us understand what’s important to you about bus in your community and how you like to have your say.
The Welsh Government and Transport for Wales are working with bus operators and key stakeholders across Wales to reform and redesign the existing bus network.
We know that the current network and service provision does not meet the needs of the communities of Wales, especially those in the South West, where other forms of public transport are not as readily available or accessible.
The current system of deregulation allows operators to run bus services commercially. This leaves local authorities with the responsibility of funding and providing socially necessary bus services. The current system makes it difficult to bring together commercial and socially necessary bus services in a way that puts the customer at the heart of the bus network.
It is therefore important that we take steps to rectify this, bringing a modern, reliable, affordable, well connected and integrated bus service to the region through the process of franchising.
To attract more people to use buses, we want to build a simpler bus network which is linked in with the rest of public transport in Wales and easy to navigate (One Network), with coordinated timetables which are easy to use and allow connection across public transport in Wales (One Timetable) and simpler ticketing which enables travel across public transport in Wales with affordable and consistent fares (One Ticket).
The Bus Reform Bill is going through the Senedd and we’re aiming to introduce franchising from Summer 2027, but work is underway to prepare for this transition. A regional approach is being taken to deliver bus reform and the key dates and regions, as they stand currently are:
- South West Wales – 2027
- North Wales - 2028
- South East Wales - 2029
- Mid Wales – 2030
As we begin our work to roll out franchising to the first of the four zones we’ll publish a regional engagement commitment that details our plans to involve local communities. The commitment will focus on capturing the views of local service users and potential service users to ensure we build a network that local people want and can use.
To help us prepare these commitment plans, we want to hear from you.