English: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I am delighted to open this debate on the Petitions Committee's report on disabled people's access to public transport services in Wales. Can I acknowledge at the outset that the Welsh Government's response to the report and its recommendations has been extremely positive? The petition that led to this report was submitted by young people from Whizz-Kidz, an organisation that supports young people with disabilities, and I want to start by paying tribute to everyone who was involved for their commitment to campaigning for improvements to public transport services in Wales. The young people the committee met with, and those who provided their views to us in a video, helped us to better understand the challenges that disabled people face every time they try to use public transport to go about their daily lives. I thank the petitioners for bringing these issues into focus for us, and warmly congratulate them on the way they have pushed their petition forward. The petition calls for disabled people to have the same rights to access public transport as anyone else in Wales. One of the young people we spoke to described his aspirations in the following way: 'I'm 13 now, I would like to be like everyone else, go around without telling someone 20 times, so I can get to where I'm going and come back with no problems.' In their evidence to us, the petitioners outlined their experiences with a range of public transport and raised a large number of issues. These included difficulties travelling at short notice or when it is not possible to request assistance in advance, and poor infrastructure, which can prevent people from travelling at all. There was also a lack of support from some staff, which can make people feel vulnerable or burdensome. The committee heard that these problems can make it more difficult for people to access education, employment and social opportunities. This can have a major impact on people's independence, confidence and self-esteem. A number of petitioners mentioned that they wanted access to public transport on demand, not having to book some time in advance. They wanted to turn up and go, the same as their able-bodied friends. The petitioners have described their experiences of using trains, buses and taxis. As a result, we held evidence sessions with organisations involved in providing these modes of public transport. We would like to thank everyone involved for the evidence they provided. Full details of this work is naturally contained in our report. Having heard this evidence, we made 12 recommendations. Time will not allow me to speak about all of these today. However, suffice to say, we concluded that improvements were required across all modes of public transport, and I wish to highlight some of our key recommendations. In relation to rail services, we believe that improvements need to be made to stations, trains and the support provided by staff. In our report, we recognise that elements of this are not devolved or are currently in the process of being devolved. Nevertheless, there is clearly a lot that the Welsh Government can do, and I particularly want to highlight the opportunity the Welsh Government currently has through the process to award the next Wales and borders rail franchise. The potential exists to ensure that the next franchise agreement contains requirements for significant improvements to be made to the accessibility of rail services, which would benefit people across Wales. The Petitions Committee has also proposed that accessibility should be included as a performance measure in the next franchise, and I am pleased that the Cabinet Secretary has accepted our recommendations on this.
Welsh: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Rwy'n falch iawn o agor y ddadl hon ar adroddiad y Pwyllgor Deisebau ar fynediad at wasanaethau trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus ar gyfer pobl anabl yng Nghymru. A gaf fi gydnabod ar y cychwyn fod ymateb Llywodraeth Cymru i'r adroddiad a'i argymhellion wedi bod yn gadarnhaol iawn? Cyflwynwyd y ddeiseb a arweiniodd at yr adroddiad hwn gan bobl ifanc o sefydliad Whizz-Kidz, sy'n cefnogi pobl ifanc ag anableddau, ac rwyf am ddechrau drwy dalu teyrnged i bawb a fu'n gysylltiedig am eu hymrwymiad i ymgyrchu dros welliannau i wasanaethau trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus yng Nghymru. Cawsom ein helpu gan y bobl ifanc y cyfarfu'r pwyllgor â hwy, a'r rhai a roddodd eu barn i ni mewn fideo, i ddeall yn well beth yw'r heriau sy'n wynebu pobl anabl bob tro y maent yn ceisio defnyddio trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus i fyw eu bywydau bob dydd. Diolch i'r deisebwyr am roi ffocws ar y materion hyn, ac rwy'n eu llongyfarch yn gynnes am y ffordd y maent wedi hybu eu deiseb. Mae'r ddeiseb yn galw am roi'r un hawliau i bobl anabl gael mynediad at drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus ag unrhyw un arall yng Nghymru. Disgrifiodd un o'r bobl ifanc y siaradom â hwy am ei ddyheadau yn y ffordd hon: 'Rwy'n 13 nawr, hoffwn fod fel pawb arall, mynd o gwmpas heb ddweud wrth rywun 20 gwaith, fel y gallwn gyrraedd i lle rwy'n mynd a dod yn ôl heb unrhyw broblemau.' Yn eu tystiolaeth i ni, amlinellodd y deisebwyr eu profiadau gydag amrywiaeth o fathau o drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus, a chrybwyllwyd nifer fawr o faterion. Roedd y rhain yn cynnwys anawsterau wrth deithio ar fyr rybudd neu pan nad yw'n bosibl gofyn am gymorth ymlaen llaw, a seilwaith gwael, a all atal pobl rhag teithio o gwbl. Hefyd, roedd diffyg cefnogaeth gan rai aelodau o staff, sy'n gallu gwneud i bobl deimlo'n agored i niwed neu'n feichus. Clywodd y pwyllgor y gall y problemau hyn ei gwneud yn anos i bobl fanteisio ar gyfleoedd addysg a chyflogaeth a chyfleoedd cymdeithasol. Gall hyn effeithio'n fawr ar annibyniaeth, hyder a hunan-barch pobl. Soniodd nifer o'r deisebwyr eu bod eisiau gallu defnyddio trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus ar gais, heb orfod trefnu beth amser ymlaen llaw. Roeddent eisiau gallu defnyddio trafnidiaeth gyhoeddus pryd bynnag y bo'i hangen arnynt, yr un peth â'u ffrindiau nad ydynt yn anabl. Mae'r deisebwyr wedi disgrifio eu profiadau o ddefnyddio trenau, bysiau a thacsis. O ganlyniad, cynhaliwyd sesiynau tystiolaeth gyda sefydliadau sy'n ymwneud â darparu'r mathau hyn o drafnidiaeth cyhoeddus. Hoffem ddiolch i bawb am y dystiolaeth a ddarparwyd ganddynt. Mae manylion llawn am y gwaith hwn wedi ei gynnwys yn ein hadroddiad wrth gwrs. Ar ôl clywed y dystiolaeth hon, rydym wedi gwneud 12 o argymhellion. Ni fydd amser yn caniatáu imi siarad am bob un o'r rhain heddiw. Fodd bynnag, digon yw dweud ein bod wedi dod i'r casgliad fod angen gwelliannau ar draws pob math o drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus, a hoffwn dynnu sylw at rai o'n prif argymhellion. Mewn perthynas â gwasanaethau rheilffyrdd, credwn fod angen gwelliannau i orsafoedd, trenau a'r cymorth a ddarperir gan staff. Yn ein hadroddiad, rydym yn cydnabod bod elfennau o hyn heb eu datganoli neu wrthi'n cael eu datganoli. Serch hynny, mae'n amlwg fod llawer y gall Llywodraeth Cymru ei wneud, ac rwyf am dynnu sylw yn benodol at y cyfle sydd gan Lywodraeth Cymru ar hyn o bryd drwy'r broses o ddyfarnu masnachfraint reilffyrdd nesaf Cymru a'r gororau. Mae yna botensial i sicrhau bod cytundeb y fasnachfraint nesaf yn cynnwys gofynion ar gyfer gwneud gwelliannau sylweddol i hygyrchedd gwasanaethau rheilffyrdd, gwelliannau a fyddai o fudd i bobl ledled Cymru. Mae'r Pwyllgor Deisebau hefyd wedi argymell y dylai hygyrchedd gael ei gynnwys fel mesur perfformiad yn y fasnachfraint nesaf, ac rwy'n falch fod Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet wedi derbyn ein hargymhellion ar hyn.