Fflecsi Bwcabus: Concerns over the end of 'lifeline' bus service

Louise Kinsey used the bus service to help her walk the Pembrokeshire coastal path

A woman who described a rural bus service as a "lifeline" says she may have to consider moving when it ends in October.

The Fflecsi Bwcabus bus service operates in rural Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.

It is due to come to an end on 31 October due to the Welsh government withdrawing its funding.

The Welsh government says it is working to explore potential solutions with local authorities and communities.

The service is designed to help people make local journeys and connections to main bus routes. A bus picks customers up on request, changing its route depending on demand.

One of those customers, Louise Kinsey, said she has used the service over the past year to walk part of the Pembrokeshire coastal path in memory of her grandmother.

• Wales could lose quarter of services, say operators

• Elderly people would be isolated by cuts, charity says

• Welsh bus users face 'skeleton service' in funding cuts

"For me without the Bwcabus, I don't know that it would have been possible. Otherwise, we're relying on people to drive you one way or another," she said.

A grant which funded the service ended in June

Bwcabus had been funded by the Welsh government since a rural development programme grant ended in June.

Regular bus user Shirley uses the service between Rhydlewis in Ceredigion and Newcastle Emlyn in Carmarthenshire, and described it as "vital for anyone who lives rurally".

She described the scheme as a "lifeline", adding: "I go out, I have coffee, meet people and go shopping.

"I love Wales with a passion. But I need a bus. I would seriously have to consider moving."

Bus user Shirley says she would "seriously have to consider moving" if the bus route is scrapped

Prof Stuart Cole, who came up with the idea for the service in 2009, said the route was the "cheapest way of running a rural bus service".

"I think the people who are probably most disadvantaged are the ones most likely to be affected - other people will have cars," he said.

Mike Morgan has been driving the Fflecsi Bwcabus for nearly 10 years, and said it's more than just a bus service for its passengers.

"I'm friends with everybody, they're friends with me. We sing on the bus, we have a bit of banter, joke about this and that.," he said.

"To lose this, the people who travel on this bus, they're not just losing a service, they're losing friends as well."

Bus driver Mike Morgan says he is "friends with everybody" he drives

Ceredigion council cabinet member Keith Henson said the scrapping of Welsh government funding has raised concerns that rural Wales is being left behind.

"We're trying to provide a more integrated transport service. It's happening down in the valleys in terms of the metro services. Whether the funding has been withdrawn to provide more services down there, that can be brought into question," he said.

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "Our transport strategy, Llwybr Newydd, sets out our commitment to improve transport for rural communities.

"We are working on a 'Rural Pathway' to explore potential solutions with local authorities and communities.

"Delivering our rural transport commitments will help Wales respond to the climate emergency, contribute to the economic growth of rural communities and help tackle rural poverty."

• A SPECIAL SCHOOL: Life in Britain’s biggest special school

• FANCY A LAUGH?: Join Rhod Gilbert as he tries out different jobs across Wales