Council a Supports Community Based Transport Service

Council a Supports Community Based Transport Service

Author: Cllr Peter Varcoe

Thanks to better health and longer lives, the number of drivers aged 70 and over is rising across the UK — and the Gwernyfed area is no exception. While driving supports independence, this trend brings challenges, especially as the UK has no upper age limit for holding a licence.

There are now 1.65 million licence holders aged over 80, and 153,000 drivers in their 90s — double the number from a decade ago. As in the rest of the country, Gwernyfed reflects this shift. Yet in 2024, drivers aged 70+ accounted for 24% of cardriver fatalities and 12% of all crash casualties. The UK also remains one of only three European nations relying solely on drivers to selfreport serious eye conditions to the DVLA.

Many older drivers do adapt by avoiding night-time, peakhour or badweather driving, and by sticking to shorter trips. However, some overestimate their abilities, raising concerns about selfassessment.

Current government briefings suggest upcoming changes: drivers over 70 may soon need a vision test every three years, with stronger monitoring of conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes. Conditional licences — for example, daytimeonly driving, staying within certain distances, or avoiding motorways — may also become more common to balance safety with mobility.

Although successive governments have long overlooked the transport needs of an ageing population, the Bus Services Act 2025, which came into force in October 2025, gives local authorities greater control over routes and fares, allows them to run their own services, protects essential routes for vulnerable users, and introduces required staff training on antisocial behaviour. It aims to deliver more reliable, accessible, and integrated public transport, supported by renewed government funding and the removal of restrictions on councilrun bus companies.

In 2025 Powys County Council’s public transport upgrade was financed by:
– Powys County Council one-off virement: £1.349 million in 2024–25.
– Powys County Council recurring maintenance uplift: £2.354 million per year until 2031.
– Transport for Wales (TfW) capital funding: up to £6.34 million for fleet procurement/refurbishment.

What We’ve Achieved So Far:

Gwernyfed Community Council seeks to ensure independence for those who can no longer drive with safety and support the development of better integrated community transport options, especially in rural areas like ours.

It is encouraged by the Bus Services Act 2025 and is concerned that due to the paucity of rural village public transport services, numbers of elderly residents will, in effect, be forced to drive in the absence of no alternative choice.

Gwernyfed Community Council pre-empted the Act by obtaining from Powys County Council sufficient funding from the approved Public Transport Upgrade  for a community bus service from Talgarth to Hay on Wye via the villages of Felindre, Tregoyd and Llanigon each Thursday morning. This began in September 2025, and its impact will be assessed in at the end of 2026.

Bus Route B49

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Gwernyfed Community Council will support a continuation of this local bus service, but your support and voice in encouraging the use of the service especially amongst older residents, will help enormously. Your input matters and strengthens our case for further action.

Click here to see the B49 Route, timetable and booking information. Please note this route only operates if pre-booked.

Contact us:

Email: clerk@gwernyfed.co.uk

Together we can make a difference.