Dyfed drafts plan
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DYFED County Council in Wales has published its draft public passenger transport plan for the next five years, reviewing planning and co-ordination, including over 70 policies and a budget and programme of work for the county.
As far as bus services are concerned, the council will support all existing stage carriage routes which it is investigating and the following investigations will support a revised level of services based upon current needs.
The council will also try to ensure that individual bus and train services are co-ordinated to form a suitable network within the country. It is also the Council's policy to agree to a transfer of road service licences from NBC subsidiaries to independent companies when the NBC wishes to surrender licences or to aim for such a transfer if the NBC fails to provide satisfactory service after proper consultation.
The council reports say that the council view is that the organisation of the independent companies tends to be less formal and this means generally smaller operating units, which ensures that costs can be kept below NBC levels.
In Dyfed, where 28 independent companies provide about 40 per cent of stage carriage services, the council feels that the greater flexibility and more intimate knowledge of local copditions and needs has enabled private operators to respond more quickly to changing circumstances.
Express coaches are included in the county council plans and although not included in the list of routes eligible for subsidies, the draft plan makes it clear that councils and district councils may make grants to any public transport undertaking, including operators of express services.
It is the policy of the county council that the coach network of specialist longdistance express carriage services should supplement rail services on a daily basis throughout the year. "This implies the county council's willingness to consider subsidising specific routes should this ever become necessary."
Interested parties have until March 9 to comment on the draft plan which covers all public transport including bus, coach, car, train, ferry and air services.