Alun Cairns has long been campaigning for improvements to public transport across the Vale of Glamorgan, specifically bus services.
You can help press the decision makers at the Vale Council and Welsh Government Minister to make changes by:
- Visiting Assembly Members and Councillors surgeries to demand change
- Alerting AMs and Councillors that the cuts are not acceptable and that you understand that the Ministers had choices and opted to cut the central subsidy by more than in England.
- Email or write to them. Their contact details are http://www.assemblywales.org/memhome.htm and http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/our_council/council/councillors/councillors.aspx
- Ask the Welsh Government why they have prioritised spending nearly £500K on a bus service to the airport, yet cut the grant for local communities. Few passengers are using the bus and it has undermined local services that also took people to the airport. Passenger numbers will not increase to the airport until there are more flights. They numbers through the winter are likely to fall
- Ask why they spent £1.2M on a new junction at Sycamore Cross when the old one worked well and there was no record of accidents. This could have been spent improving buses.
- Explain your thoughts on the budget increase for cycle paths, which benefit relatively few people.
- Ask why train journeys in Wales are subsidised by an average of £6 per passenger per journey. Buses carry more people.
- How can they afford to subsidise daily flights from Cardiff to Anglesey, with few passengers using the route? This could be spent on buses and would carry to more passengers.
- Charges imposed by the Transport Commissioner on bus companies block them from trying out new routes. Can these be cut to help them experiment?
The Vale is one of the poorest funded counties in Wales. We receive £202 less per person than Cardiff and £226 less that Bridgend. This must change and is impacting local services such as buses. Please sign the petition http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/vale-community-bus-service
It is important to ask friends and colleagues to contact their Councillors and AMs – and to sign the petition. Please pass the word on.