{"id":1720,"date":"2026-02-12T16:44:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:44:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=1720"},"modified":"2026-02-12T16:44:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:44:46","slug":"council-a-supports-community-based-transport-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=1720","title":{"rendered":"Council a Supports Community Based Transport Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

Council a Supports Community Based Transport Service<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: Cllr Peter Varcoe<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks to better health and longer lives, the number of drivers aged 70 and over is rising across the UK \u2014 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.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are now 1.65 million licence holders aged over 80, and 153,000 drivers in their 90s \u2014 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 car<\/span><\/span>driver fatalities and 12% of all crash casualties. The UK also remains one of only three European nations relying solely on drivers to self<\/span><\/span>report serious eye conditions to the DVLA.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Many older drivers do adapt by avoiding night-time, peak<\/span><\/span>hour or bad<\/span><\/span>weather driving, and by sticking to shorter trips. However, some overestimate their abilities, raising concerns about self<\/span><\/span>assessment.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s disease, and diabetes. Conditional licences \u2014 for example, daytime<\/span><\/span>only driving, staying within certain distances, or avoiding motorways \u2014 may also become more common to balance safety with mobility.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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 council<\/span><\/span>run bus companies.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In 2025 Powys County Council\u2019s public transport upgrade was financed by:<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span>– <\/span><\/span>Powys County Council <\/span><\/span>o<\/span><\/span>ne-off virement: \u00a31.349 million in 2024\u201325.<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span>– <\/span><\/span>Powys County Council r<\/span><\/span>ecurring <\/span><\/span>maintenance <\/span><\/span>uplift: \u00a32.354 million per year until 2031.<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span>– <\/span><\/span>Transport for Wales (<\/span><\/span>TfW<\/span><\/span>)<\/span><\/span> capital funding: up to \u00a36.34 million for fleet procurement\/refurbishment.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What We\u2019ve Achieved So Far:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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

It is encouraged by the Bus <\/span><\/span>Services Act <\/span><\/span>2025 and<\/span><\/span> is concerned that <\/span><\/span>due to the paucity of rural village <\/span><\/span>public <\/span><\/span>transport services<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> numbers of elderly reside<\/span><\/span>nt<\/span><\/span>s will<\/span><\/span>, in effect, be forced to drive<\/span><\/span> in the absence of no alternative <\/span><\/span>choice<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Gwernyfed Community Council <\/span><\/span>pre-empted th<\/span><\/span>e <\/span><\/span>Act b<\/span><\/span>y obtaining <\/span><\/span>from Powys County Council<\/span><\/span> sufficient funding <\/span><\/span>from the<\/span><\/span> approved<\/span><\/span> Public Transport Upgrade <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>for a community bus service fro<\/span><\/span>m<\/span><\/span> Talgarth to Hay on Wye<\/span><\/span> via the villages of Felindre<\/span><\/span>, Trego<\/span><\/span>yd <\/span><\/span>and Llanigon each Thursday morning. This <\/span><\/span>began<\/span><\/span> in <\/span><\/span>September 2025<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> and its impact will be assessed in <\/span><\/span>at the end o<\/span><\/span>f 2026<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bus Route B49<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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HOW YOU CAN HELP<\/span><\/span>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Click here to see the B49 Route, timetable and booking information. Please note this route only operates if pre-booked<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Contact <\/span><\/span>us<\/span><\/span>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Email: <\/span><\/span>clerk@gwernyfed.co.uk<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Together we can make a <\/span><\/span>difference.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 \u2014 and the Gwernyfed area is no exception. While …<\/p>\n

Council a Supports Community Based Transport Service<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1720"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1722,"href":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1720\/revisions\/1722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwernyfed.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}