English: Across my region of South Wales Central, countless constituents have been in touch on this very issue, and it is clear that there's an inconsistent service across Wales. And even though there are issues linked to the pandemic that have resulted in reduced services and reduced capacity, the reality is that the bus services have been completely inadequate even prior to this. COVID should not be used as an excuse. It is crucial that we secure from the Welsh Government detailed plans and timescales on when improvements will be made as soon as possible, and, more importantly, that the Welsh Government delivers on those. If you own a car, and you've planned on using a bus on a certain day, its cancellation or delay is an inconvenience at most. But, for those who don't own a car, or are unable to drive because of age or a medical condition, and rely on buses to get to work, to medical appointments, to go shopping, to take their children to school or to socialise, it can severely impact on their lives. And though there is a specific problem with bus services in rural areas, I think we need to be honest that this is a widespread problem and also affects people living in our towns and cities. If we are serious about tackling climate change and supporting more people in using public transport, this cannot continue. To illustrate this, I would like to use an example of my own community of Pontypridd. I live in the Graigwen area, which is 1 mile from the town centre but up a very steep hill. Many elderly people live in my community, and are completely reliant on the bus to access basic services. Prior to the pandemic, we had been calling for improvements. The hourly bus service was unreliable, it finished at 5.30 p.m. daily, it did not run on a Sunday or a bank holiday and neither did it run right to the top of the hill to serve those living in the streets at the top of the estate. People complained to me about feeling isolated and restricted to their homes, and could not rely on the bus service. They even struggled to find a taxi to take them to medical appointments if the appointment clashed with the school run, and were anxious anytime they had to go anywhere as they could not be certain a bus would turn up. Even the bus stop is inadequate and provides no shelter from the rain. As I said, these are the problems that we faced prior to the pandemic, and they are not unique to Graigwen. There are also similar issues in relation to the bus services serving other nearby communities to the town, such as Cilfynydd and Glyncoch, which have progressively worsened, with services cancelled frequently due to a lack of drivers. In fact, on 19 June, the 109, 107 and 105 services did not run at all, with no communication with passengers. I've received similar complaints today about people stranded in the bus station in Pontypridd. One mother living in Cilfynydd contacted me this morning, having heard about today's debate on the news, and shared this with me: 'I rely on the bus services to get my daughter to school. Very often buses haven't turned up or are running late. This has resulted in me getting my daughter to school nearly an hour later than when she should be there.' Another, also living in Cilfynydd, shared a similar story, stating: 'Being a single working mother I rely on the buses to get me to work to do a shift while my kids are in school as well as at the weekend. Very often the bus that's timed to get to the school for pick up is cancelled and my children are left waiting for me to arrive. This has meant that I have had to allow them to walk home from school earlier than I am comfortable with as it's just not possible to get there on time due to these bus delays and cancellations being so frequent.' A resident from Glyncoch shared with me her reliance on a bus to get to work in Nantgarw, and that as a result of buses being cancelled or delayed, she has been late to work on a number of occasions over the past couple of weeks, resulting in less wages for her and her two boys. Others speak of missed medical appointments, including COVID vaccinations and hospital appointments at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, despite leaving two or three hours to make what should be a 20-minute journey at most. A common thread runs through all of the correspondence I have received on the issue of local buses: people feel forgotten about, undervalued and don't feel listened to. They are anxious and isolated. This Government can change this. This Government should change this. We need action, not just words, and those actions are needed now.
Welsh: Ar draws fy rhanbarth i, Canol De Cymru, mae etholwyr di-ben-draw wedi bod mewn cysylltiad ar yr union fater hwn, ac mae'n amlwg fod gwasanaethau'n anghyson ledled Cymru. Ac er bod problemau'n gysylltiedig â'r pandemig wedi arwain at lai o wasanaethau a llai o gapasiti, y realiti yw bod y gwasanaethau bysiau yn gwbl annigonol cyn hynny hyd yn oed. Ni ddylid defnyddio COVID fel esgus. Mae'n hanfodol ein bod yn sicrhau cynlluniau ac amserlenni manwl gan Lywodraeth Cymru ynglŷn â phryd y bydd gwelliannau'n cael eu gwneud cyn gynted â phosibl, ac yn bwysicach, fod Llywodraeth Cymru yn cyflawni'r rheini. Os ydych yn berchen ar gar, a'ch bod wedi bwriadu defnyddio bws ar ddiwrnod penodol, mae iddo gael ei ganslo neu ei oedi yn anghyfleus ar y mwyaf. Ond i'r rhai nad ydynt yn berchen ar gar, neu nad ydynt yn gallu gyrru oherwydd oedran neu gyflwr meddygol, ac sy'n dibynnu ar fysiau i gyrraedd y gwaith, i apwyntiadau meddygol, i fynd i siopa, i fynd â'u plant i'r ysgol neu i gymdeithasu, gall effeithio'n ddifrifol ar eu bywydau. Ac er bod problem benodol gyda gwasanaethau bysiau mewn ardaloedd gwledig, credaf fod angen inni fod yn onest fod hon yn broblem eang a hefyd yn effeithio ar bobl sy'n byw yn ein trefi a'n dinasoedd. Os ydym o ddifrif ynghylch mynd i'r afael â newid hinsawdd a chynorthwyo mwy o bobl i ddefnyddio trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus, ni all hyn barhau. I ddangos hyn, hoffwn ddefnyddio enghraifft o fy nghymuned fy hun ym Mhontypridd. Rwy'n byw yn ardal Graigwen, sydd 1 filltir o ganol y dref ond i fyny bryn serth iawn. Mae llawer o bobl oedrannus yn byw yn fy nghymuned, ac maent yn gwbl ddibynnol ar y bws i gyrraedd gwasanaethau sylfaenol. Cyn y pandemig, roeddem wedi bod yn galw am welliannau. Roedd y gwasanaeth bws bob awr yn annibynadwy, byddai'n gorffen am 5.30 p.m. bob dydd, nid oedd yn rhedeg ar ddydd Sul na gŵyl y banc ac nid oedd ychwaith yn cyrraedd pen y bryn i wasanaethu'r rhai sy'n byw ar y strydoedd ar ben uchaf yr ystâd. Roedd pobl yn cwyno wrthyf eu bod yn teimlo'n ynysig ac wedi eu cyfyngu i'w cartrefi, ac na allent ddibynnu ar y gwasanaeth bws. Roeddent hyd yn oed yn ei chael hi'n anodd dod o hyd i dacsi i fynd â hwy i apwyntiadau meddygol pe bai'r apwyntiad yn gwrthdaro ag adeg cludo plant i neu o'r ysgol, ac roeddent yn bryderus pan fyddai'n rhaid iddynt fynd i rywle gan na allent fod yn sicr y byddai bws yn cyrraedd. Mae hyd yn oed y gysgodfan fysiau'n annigonol ac nid yw'n darparu cysgod rhag y glaw. Fel y dywedais, dyma'r problemau roeddem yn eu hwynebu cyn y pandemig, ac nid ydynt yn unigryw i Graigwen. Mae problemau tebyg hefyd gyda'r gwasanaethau bysiau sy'n gwasanaethu cymunedau eraill ger y dref, megis Cilfynydd a Glyn-coch, sydd wedi gwaethygu'n raddol, gyda gwasanaethau'n cael eu canslo'n aml oherwydd prinder gyrwyr. Yn wir, ar 19 Mehefin, nid oedd gwasanaethau 109, 107 a 105 yn rhedeg o gwbl, heb unrhyw gyfathrebu â theithwyr. Rwyf wedi derbyn cwynion tebyg heddiw am bobl yn cael eu gadael yn yr orsaf fysiau ym Mhontypridd. Cysylltodd un fam sy'n byw yng Nghilfynydd y bore yma, ar ôl clywed am y ddadl heddiw ar y newyddion, a rhannodd hyn gyda mi: 'Rwy'n dibynnu ar y gwasanaethau bws i gael fy merch i'r ysgol. Yn aml iawn, nid yw'r bysiau'n cyrraedd neu maent yn rhedeg yn hwyr. Arweiniodd hyn at wneud fy merch bron awr yn hwyr i'r ysgol.' Rhannodd un arall, sydd hefyd yn byw yng Nghilfynydd, stori debyg, gan ddweud: 'Gan fy mod yn fam sengl sy'n gweithio, rwy'n dibynnu ar y bysiau i gyrraedd y gwaith i wneud shifft tra bod fy mhlant yn yr ysgol yn ogystal ag ar y penwythnos. Yn aml iawn, mae'r bws sydd wedi'i amseru i gyrraedd yr ysgol i'w casglu yn cael ei ganslo ac mae fy mhlant yn gorfod aros i mi gyrraedd. Mae hyn wedi golygu fy mod wedi gorfod caniatáu iddynt gerdded adref o'r ysgol yn gynt nag rwy'n gyfforddus i wneud gan nad yw'n bosibl cyrraedd yno mewn pryd oherwydd bod bysiau'n hwyr neu'n cael eu canslo mor aml.' Rhannodd preswylydd o Lyn-coch ei dibyniaeth ar fws i gyrraedd y gwaith yn Nantgarw, a'i bod, o ganlyniad i fysiau hwyr neu wedi'u canslo wedi bod yn hwyr i'w gwaith ar sawl achlysur dros yr wythnosau diwethaf, gan arwain at lai o gyflog iddi hi a'i dau fab. Mae eraill yn sôn am apwyntiadau meddygol a gollwyd, gan gynnwys brechiadau COVID ac apwyntiadau ysbyty yn Ysbyty Brenhinol Morgannwg, er iddynt adael dwy neu dair awr i wneud yr hyn a ddylai fod yn daith 20 munud ar y mwyaf. Mae edefyn cyffredin yn rhedeg drwy'r holl ohebiaeth a gefais ar fater bysiau lleol: mae pobl yn teimlo eu bod wedi'u hanghofio, yn ddi-nod ac nad oes neb yn gwrando arnynt. Maent yn bryderus ac yn ynysig. Gall y Llywodraeth newid hyn. Fe ddylai'r Llywodraeth newid hyn. Rhaid wrth weithredu, nid geiriau'n unig, ac mae angen gweithredu yn awr.