Cardiff Bus cuts services and increases ticket prices

Cardif Bus warns that some services are no longer sustainable

Cardiff Bus will cut services and raise ticket prices, it has announced.

The company will reduce its early morning, late evening and weekend timetables from 20 April.

Cardiff Bus blamed the move on the Welsh government slashing its three-year funding package from £213.3m to £189m.

As a result the company will introduce a price hike to selected fares. The Welsh government said previously it was reviewing funding.

A single journey in the Cardiff to Go area will increase by 10p, while day tickets will increase by 10p when bought through the company's app.

In the Cardiff to Go Plus area - which includes travel to Cardiff Airport and the Vale of Glamorgan - single fares will go up by 10p and day tickets will increase by 30p when bought on the app.

'Not sustainable'

Cynthia Ogbonna, managing director of Cardiff Bus, said: "It is unfortunate that we have been forced to take the decision to reduce services as a result of Welsh government cuts in funding to the bus industry in Wales.

"The result of the latest cut in funding is that some of our routes will not cover their running costs, which means that these services are not sustainable."

Nearly 100 subsidised bus routes have been scrapped by councils in Wales in the past three years, with further cuts expected as authorities make savings.

Nearly one in seven routes across 19 council areas have been axed and the Welsh government said it was reviewing ways of funding services.

In February, a Freedom of Information request made by the BBC showed 93 services have been cut from 656 subsidised routes between 2011 and 2014.