Welsh bus operators get new subsidies
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• Glamorgan County Council has agreed for the first time to subsidize a number of unremunerative services operated by three Welsh bus companies. Thirty-six services run by Western Welsh, Red and White, and South Wales Transport are to receive financial aid amounting to nearly £69,000 from the council and a further £69,000 from the Welsh Office, which always matches local authority subsidies.
Originally, the bus companies had asked for subsidies totalling £268,000, but even with a subsidy of £138,000, Glamorgan's £69,000 will still make the council the largest subsidizer of bus services in Wales.
However, the subsidies will run only for one year. Mr Vernon Greenway, county treasurer, explained that the new local government authorities have the statutory powers to direct, co-ordinate and review all transport matters in their areas.
The amount of subsidy to be provided was assessed on a number of points including income and expenditure and savings from cutting the services and improving administrative efficiency.
In Merioneth, services operated by Crossville Motor Services Ltd are receiving subsidiaries amounting to £57,949.
This was the figure stated when Merioneth County Council's finance committee held a meeting recently. It was said that there was an increase in subsidies towards the operations of unprofitable bus services of nearly 40 per cent on the previous year.