English: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I'm pleased to take part in this debate this afternoon. As Russell George has said, good public transport is essential for younger people in Wales who rely on buses and trains to access educational classes, weekend jobs, after-school clubs and sports - the list goes on. Access to these opportunities and activities is integral to the development of the next generation, who continue to make it clear that they want to see better public transport. Members may remember that the UK Youth Parliament voted to make public transport cheaper, better and accessible their priority campaign for 2012. This UK campaign emerged from a nationwide poll of 65,000 young people, which identified the top-five issues of concern for young people, and clearly public transport was very much at the top of that agenda. Therefore, it's important that Governments at all levels show that they are listening to the views of young people when it comes to providing transport services. Of course, it's also important that the bus and rail industry are also listening and engaging with young people too, as young people are an important market for public travel. Indeed, quite often young people will have no option but to use bus and rail services before they learn to drive. Therefore, public transport providers must ensure that young people have a positive experience of travelling publicly to encourage them to continue using buses and rail into adulthood, even if they learn to drive or buy a car. We live in an age where it takes seconds to send a tweet or update a status on Facebook, and so it's clear that young people can be a great influence, or a strong critic, of public transport and that's something that perhaps the bus and rail industry haven't taken that seriously in the past. Therefore, perhaps there's an opportunity here for bus and rail service operators to engage more with younger people when developing services and even campaigns in the future, by using these digital platforms much more than they've done in the past to communicate with young people. Therefore, given the importance of public transport to young people, this motion is today calling on the Welsh Government to support the introduction of a new green card scheme to provide all 16 to 24-year-olds in Wales with access to unlimited free bus travel and discounted rail travel. I think that this scheme sends a clear signal to young people across Wales that we recognise the concerns that they have surrounding public transport, and that we're looking at ways that we can better support them. This policy will also help strengthen and support the bus industry in Wales by encouraging more and more young people to use public transport, thereby protecting those bus services for the future, which is particularly important in rural areas and the constituency that I represent. A scheme like this will undoubtedly make some bus services, especially in rural areas, much more sustainable. Of course, the use of public transport can be even more of a barrier to young people with learning difficulties who quite often find the public transport system complex and intimidating. One of the most effective ways that the Welsh Government can support young people with learning difficulties using the public transport network is by simply increasing understanding and tolerance of the challenges that face young people with learning difficulties. I've had many representations from groups such as Pembrokeshire People First, and I should declare an interest as their president. Groups like Pembrokeshire People First continue to advocate policies to make public transport more accessible to people with learning difficulties, and one of their calls has been for free entitlements to bus travel. Hopefully, this scheme will help in some way by encouraging more young people with learning difficulties to use public transport, thereby building up their confidence and encouraging them to live more independently and engage in the wider community. The importance of providing good public transport is certainly felt in rural areas, where services are fewer and costs are higher. For young people living in rural areas like Pembrokeshire, the geography simply is not as interconnected as other parts of Wales. Therefore, I believe there's a case here for making better use of the existing transport fleet in rural local authority areas by developing more of a partnership approach with those delivering transport services in local communities. This would mean bringing together a range of agencies and stakeholders, along with local authority departments, to centrally co-ordinate and schedule public transport, by taking into account capacity on the mainstream network and hopefully identifying gaps in transport provision where solutions can be met jointly. With funding tight for many local authorities in rural areas, alternative options are needed to support transport availability for young people, and perhaps a collaborative approach that can co-ordinate public transport is an effective way forward. Therefore, in closing, Deputy Presiding Officer, at the very heart of this debate is the desire to deliver more support and independence to younger people. I believe that, to do this, the Welsh Government, public transport providers and young people themselves have to work together to make services more affordable, accessible and acceptable. Our proposals aim to give young people the independence to travel more freely around Wales by offering free bus travel and discounted rail travel to young people, and I urge Members to support our motion.
Welsh: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, ac rwy'n falch o gymryd rhan yn y ddadl y prynhawn yma. Fel y mae Russell George wedi dweud, mae trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus dda yn hanfodol ar gyfer pobl iau yng Nghymru sy'n dibynnu ar fysiau a threnau i gael mynediad at ddosbarthiadau addysg, swyddi penwythnos, clybiau ar ôl ysgol a chwaraeon - mae'r rhestr yn ddiddiwedd. Mae mynediad at y cyfleoedd a'r gweithgareddau hyn yn rhan annatod o ddatblygiad y genhedlaeth nesaf, sy'n parhau i'w gwneud yn glir eu bod am weld gwell trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus. Efallai fod yr Aelodau'n cofio bod Senedd Ieuenctid y DU wedi pleidleisio dros wneud trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus ratach, well a mwy hygyrch yn brif ymgyrch ar gyfer 2012. Deilliodd yr ymgyrch hon yn y DU o arolwg barn cenedlaethol o 65,000 o bobl ifanc, a nodai'r pum prif fater sy'n peri pryder i bobl ifanc, ac roedd trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus yn amlwg iawn ar frig yr agenda honno. Felly, mae'n bwysig fod Llywodraethau ar bob lefel yn dangos eu bod yn gwrando ar farn pobl ifanc wrth ddarparu gwasanaethau trafnidiaeth. Wrth gwrs, mae'n bwysig hefyd fod y diwydiant rheilffyrdd a bysiau'n gwrando ac yn ymgysylltu â phobl ifanc, gan fod pobl ifanc yn farchnad bwysig ar gyfer teithio cyhoeddus. Yn wir, yn aml iawn, ni fydd gan bobl ifanc unrhyw ddewis ond defnyddio gwasanaethau bws a thrên cyn iddynt ddysgu gyrru. Felly, rhaid i ddarparwyr trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus sicrhau bod pobl ifanc yn cael profiad cadarnhaol o deithio'n gyhoeddus er mwyn eu hannog i barhau i ddefnyddio bysiau a threnau pan fyddant yn oedolion, hyd yn oed os ydynt yn dysgu gyrru neu'n prynu car. Rydym yn byw mewn oes lle y mae'n cymryd eiliadau i anfon trydariad neu ddiweddaru statws ar Facebook, ac felly mae'n amlwg y gall pobl ifanc fod yn ddylanwad mawr ar drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus, neu'n feirniadol iawn ohoni, ac mae hynny'n rhywbeth nad yw'r diwydiant bysiau a threnau wedi bod o ddifrif yn ei gylch yn y gorffennol. Felly, efallai fod yna gyfle yn y fan hon i weithredwyr gwasanaethau bws a thrên ymgysylltu mwy â phobl iau wrth ddatblygu gwasanaethau a hyd yn oed ymgyrchoedd yn y dyfodol, drwy ddefnyddio'r llwyfannau digidol hyn lawer mwy nag y maent wedi ei wneud yn y gorffennol i gyfathrebu â phobl ifanc. Felly, o ystyried pwysigrwydd trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus i bobl ifanc, mae'r cynnig hwn heddiw yn galw ar Lywodraeth Cymru i gefnogi camau i gyflwyno cynllun cerdyn gwyrdd newydd i ddarparu mynediad at deithiau bws am ddim yn ddigyfyngiad a theithio ar y trên am bris gostyngol i'r holl bobl rhwng 16 a 24 oed yng Nghymru. Rwy'n credu bod y cynllun hwn yn anfon neges glir i bobl ifanc ledled Cymru ein bod yn cydnabod y pryderon sydd ganddynt mewn perthynas â thrafnidiaeth gyhoeddus, a'n bod yn edrych ar ffyrdd y gallwn eu cefnogi'n well. Bydd y polisi hwn hefyd yn helpu i gryfhau a chefnogi'r diwydiant bysiau yng Nghymru drwy annog mwy a mwy o bobl ifanc i ddefnyddio trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus, a thrwy hynny ddiogelu'r gwasanaethau bws hynny ar gyfer y dyfodol, sy'n arbennig o bwysig mewn ardaloedd gwledig a'r etholaeth a gynrychiolaf. Bydd cynllun fel hwn yn ddi-os yn gwneud rhai gwasanaethau bysiau, yn enwedig mewn ardaloedd gwledig, yn llawer mwy cynaliadwy. Wrth gwrs, gall y defnydd o drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus fod hyd yn oed yn fwy o rwystr i bobl ifanc ag anawsterau dysgu sy'n eithaf aml yn teimlo bod y system drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus yn gymhleth a bygythiol. Un o'r ffyrdd mwyaf effeithiol y gall Llywodraeth Cymru gefnogi pobl ifanc sydd ag anawsterau dysgu i ddefnyddio'r rhwydwaith trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus yn syml iawn yw cynyddu dealltwriaeth a goddefgarwch o'r heriau sy'n wynebu pobl ifanc ag anawsterau dysgu. Rwyf wedi cael nifer o sylwadau gan grwpiau megis Pembrokeshire People First, a dylwn ddatgan buddiant fel eu llywydd. Mae grwpiau fel Pembrokeshire People First yn parhau i ddadlau dros bolisïau i wneud trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus yn fwy hygyrch i bobl ag anawsterau dysgu, ac un o'u galwadau yw hawl i deithio ar fysiau'n rhad ac am ddim. Y gobaith yw y bydd y cynllun hwn yn helpu mewn rhyw ffordd drwy annog mwy o bobl ifanc ag anawsterau dysgu i ddefnyddio trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus, a thrwy hynny feithrin eu hyder a'u hannog i fyw'n fwy annibynnol a chymryd rhan yn y gymuned ehangach. Yn sicr, mae pwysigrwydd darparu trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus dda yn sicr i'w deimlo mewn ardaloedd gwledig, lle y ceir llai o wasanaethau a chostau uwch. Ar gyfer pobl ifanc sy'n byw mewn ardaloedd gwledig fel Sir Benfro, nid yw'r ddaearyddiaeth mor gydgysylltiedig â rhannau eraill o Gymru. Felly, credaf fod achos yma dros wneud gwell defnydd o'r fflyd drafnidiaeth bresennol yn ardaloedd gwledig yr awdurdodau lleol trwy ddatblygu mwy o ddull partneriaeth gyda'r rhai sy'n darparu gwasanaethau trafnidiaeth mewn cymunedau lleol. Byddai hyn yn golygu dwyn ystod o asiantaethau a rhanddeiliaid ynghyd, yn ogystal ag adrannau awdurdodau lleol, i gydlynu'n ganolog a threfnu trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus, trwy ystyried cynhwysedd y rhwydwaith prif ffrwd a dod o hyd i fylchau, gobeithio, yn y ddarpariaeth drafnidiaeth lle y gellir darganfod atebion ar y cyd. Gyda chyllid yn dynn i lawer o awdurdodau lleol mewn ardaloedd gwledig, mae angen dewisiadau amgen i gefnogi argaeledd trafnidiaeth ar gyfer pobl ifanc, ac efallai fod ymagwedd gydweithredol a all gydlynu trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus yn ffordd effeithiol ymlaen. Felly, i gloi, Dirprwy Lywydd, wrth galon y ddadl hon mae'r awydd i ddarparu mwy o gymorth ac annibyniaeth i bobl iau. I wneud hyn, credaf fod yn rhaid i Lywodraeth Cymru, darparwyr trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus a phobl ifanc eu hunain weithio gyda'i gilydd i wneud gwasanaethau'n fwy fforddiadwy, hygyrch a derbyniol. Nod ein cynigion yw rhoi annibyniaeth i bobl ifanc deithio'n fwy rhydd o amgylch Cymru trwy gynnig teithiau bws am ddim a theithiau ar y trên am bris gostyngol i bobl ifanc, ac rwy'n annog yr Aelodau i gefnogi ein cynnig.