Cardiff Council is worried the Welsh Government’s bus reform plans could hit school transport in the city.
As part of the Bus Service (Wales) Bill published in March, the Welsh Government plans to improve bus travel through a number of measures including introducing bus franchising.
At a Cardiff Council environmental scrutiny committee meeting on Thursday, a cabinet member said the local authority welcomes the bill, despite raising some concerns.
The local authority has been invited to respond to a consultation on the proposals.
Cllr Dan De'Ath, cabinet member for transport, said: "We think it is really positive, but there are a few things in there we think are challenges and a few parts of it we are still not really clear about how they will work."
Bus patronage in Wales has struggled to return to the same level it was at before the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is one of the reasons bus companies have struggled financially and something that has been cited a number of times in announcements about cuts and changes to services over the years.
Franchising bus services in Wales would mean decisions on things like routes, timetables and fares would be made by the Welsh Government and Transport for Wales (TfW), with private operators bidding for contracts to run services.
It is hoped the move will improve the reliability and quality of bus services in Wales and make it more affordable for people.
Cardiff Council said that it is aware of these potential benefits, but also thinks there are unanswered questions around things like how the Welsh Government’s plans will be fully funded and how it could impact municipal bus companies, like Cardiff Bus, which operate many of the home to school journeys in the Welsh capital.
Cllr De’Ath added: “We think to implement this successfully will need significant investment because costs might potentially be higher and Welsh Government…doesn’t seem to be committing any more resources with the revenue or capital to finance bus reform."
“We think there is a potential risk…in that regard."
Cllr De’Ath said municipal bus companies may struggle to compete for franchising contracts due to a number of limitations, including not having the same level of expertise compared to bigger UK-wide companies.
Cardiff Council’s operational manager for transport development and network management, Jason Dixon, said: “There is that risk of not just Cardiff Bus but small operators failing to win enough contracts to be a viable business."
“If that happens then…our home to school transport comes at risk because we are very reliant on the small operators to provide those services."
As part of the proposed roll out, South East Wales would be one of the last regions to see franchising introduced (2029).
South West Wales would see it brought in first (2027), followed by North Wales (2028) and Mid Wales would be last (2030).
The deadline for submissions of feedabck on the Bus Service (Wales) Bill is Tuesday.
Cardiff Council’s cabinet members will receive a report explaining the potential impacts of bus reforms in further detail at a meeting on Thursday.
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