The Welsh Government is proposing statutory guidance to establish quality standards for infrastructure and information at bus stops.
In January, Transport Network exclusively revealed that Welsh infrastructure secretary Ken Skates was seeking a more consistent approach to bus stops and shelters.
The 'main bus stop' in Llandrindod Wells, county town of Powys
Now his government is consulting the public on improving local bus services in Wales, and proposes to match existing quality requirements for vehicles with standards relating to stops.
‘The relevant responsible local or national authority will be required to provide bus infrastructure specified in the statutory guidance,’ says the government, which pledges to consult local authorities, operators and passengers when developing the guidance.
The standards would apply to infrastructure ‘including but not limited to bus shelter and bus stop design’ and to information display.
The ‘national authority’ reference could relate to stops on the TrawsCymru long-distance network, which the government proposes to control through franchising in future.
A council transport officer said the statutory guidance would help to secure funds for bus stops within local authorities and, he hoped, from the Welsh Government.
‘It’s a step in the right direction. There could be a standard which says if it’s a bus stop where more than x passengers get on, it should have these facilities.’
He said authorities were already supposed to provide timetable information at bus stops. ‘Some authorities leave it to the operators but where you’ve got two, operator A will cover up operator B’s timetable. If I saw that, I wouldn’t trust the buses. You need good information.’
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