‘Elderly people in Mid Wales cannot even get down to their own capital city,” Builth Wells Mayor said after changes to the T4 bus service

Concerns about the T4 bus service which used to be a direct link to Cardiff, have been raised by Builth Wells Town Council.

Members of the council said they have used the bus themselves for a day out, to visit family and friends or to connect to other transport hubs to get further afield.

They said the direct link to Cardiff from Builth Wells has been a vital service for many years and its loss is keenly felt by the community.

Following a change in the bus contract, passengers are now required to change buses in Merthyr Tydfil to reach Cardiff, either by connecting bus or train.

This change poses additional financial burdens, especially for pensioners who rely on bus passes, as train travel incurs extra costs.

The council said the current bus timetable does not facilitate smooth connections in Merthyr, there is insufficient buffer time to account for potential delays and on Sundays the journey has become virtually impossible due to connection issues.

Town clerk Louise Hammond said they were particularly concerned about the lack of advance communication about the significant service alteration, with little to no prior notice to the community about the changes.

Mrs Hammond wrote to Traws Cymru about the issues.

At a recent meeting, members were told that Traws Cymru had responded and said that before going out to tender for the new service a number of engagement events were carried out across the contracted section of the T4.

They said the events were carried out in Brecon,

Traws Cymru said the Builth Wells event had a very low attendance. They also said Powys County Council published a consultation document on all bus services operating within Powys and the proposed timetables including T4.

But Councillors Lynda Owen and Shaun Bromwell said they were not aware of the engagement events and could not remember ever hearing about them.

Builth Wells Mayor Councillor Mark Hammond said; “‘Elderly people in Mid Wales cannot even get down to their own capital city. The Welsh Government is letting the people of Mid Wales down.”

Members agreed that the town clerk should contact Traws Cymru again and ask when the consultation took place