Major change 'petrifies' rural bus operators

INDUSTRY CHIEFS WARN WELSH GOVT'S NETWORK PLAN COULD HIT SMALLER FIRMS AND PUBLIC PURSE WILL SHOULDER RISK

- Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter

RURAL bus operators are 'petrified' by the Welsh Government's plans to introduce a London-style bus network in Wales, the industry has warned.

Scott Pearson, chair of the Coach and Bus Association Cymru, gave evidence on the bus bill which seeks to bring buses into public control, with operators bidding for contracts.

Mr Pearson, who has been running bus services for 25 years, cautioned against a regional approach or modelling reforms on other franchise systems such as Greater Manchester's.

"That's a massive population in a big urban area," he told the Senedd's infrastructure committee. "Wales is not like that: you've got three big cities in the bottom, one at the top and, in between, a whole load of hills and mountains.

"The rural aspect to this, our members - the SME [smalland medium-sized enterprise] membership - are petrified about this bill."

Expressing concerns about smaller operators being squeezed out, Mr Pearson told the meeting on May 15: "Petrified' is the right word to use because we don't have detail."