BC15
Proposed Provision of Bus and Coach Services Legislative Competence Order (LCO)
Response from Welsh Consumer Council
Huw Lewis AM
National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff
CF99 1NA
10th September 2008
Dear Huw
The Welsh Consumer Council (WCC) is committed to being the authoritative voice of consumers in Wales by working with consumers and related organisations to present their interests and needs to industry and government in order to generate beneficial change. The Welsh Consumer Council, energywatch (Wales) and Postwatch (Wales) will merge on 1st October 2008. The new stronger consumer organisation will be known as Consumer Focus Wales.
We have a strong history of work regarding transport and for the last fifteen years we have sought to represent the views of consumers who use public transport as well as the perceptions of those who don’t in order to better understand public opinion on transport services in Wales. As a result, we have gained a significant knowledge base on how to identify passenger needs across all spheres of public transport and we would like to take this opportunity to comment on the proposed Legislative Competence Order.
The Welsh Consumer Council welcomes your vision for a 'genuinely integrated public transport system in Wales’. According to the recent Assembly Committee report, vulnerable consumers are let down by a lack of integrated transport network, which directly affects their access to vital services. In 2002, the Welsh Consumer Council produced a report on Rural Isolation highlighting the impact of an inadequate transport structure on everyday life in rural communities and the risk of social exclusion. The report made recommendations for improving connectivity between communities, such as community transport schemes, as conventional public transport is more difficult to provide in more rural areas.
The LCO’s reference to 'socially valuable routes’ is therefore imperative to combating social exclusion, not only in rural areas. Many vulnerable groups in society are heavily reliant on public transport to reach work, school and other everyday services. Our 2004 report, People Without Cars, notes some groups (such as shift workers) felt that the public transport that was available did not meet their needs and were therefore more reliant on cars.
We therefore feel the wording of the proposed LCO to be concise and to convey the values of social integration that are so vital to so many vulnerable people in Wales.
Yours sincerely
Rebecca Thomas
Uwch Swyddog Polisi / Senior Policy Officer
Cyngor Defnyddwyr Cymru / Welsh Consumer Council
