Bwcabus at the heart of the rural community
Bwcabus is quite clearly the heart of the rural community - like a community hall on wheels.
These are the potent words of praise from Older Peoples’ Commissioner for Wales, Sarah Rochira, after she took a trip with passengers in deepest Ceredigion discovering for some that Bwcabus was “the most important public service in their lives.”
The Commissioner wanted to chat with passengers and council officers about the Bwcabus services continuing success helping people travel around Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire’s remoter parts.
One of these passenegers riding Bwcabus with the Commissioner was Margaret from Rhydlewis who said: “If it wasn’t for Bwcabus I would have to move. It is a lifeline for me.”
Another passenger, Mary, said: “Without Bwcabus most of us would not go out.
And passenger Mrs Cross told the Commissioner: “I could not go to my GP if the bus did not pick me up.”
In her blog Mrs Rochira wrote: “The bus is so clearly more than transport. It’s a place where people meet, catch up with each other and the local news. For many of them it’s their community hall.
“What was so impressive about this service was that it combines delivering a practical, tailor-made rural transport service with mainstream public transport services, ensuring that people, with one phone call and one ticket, can get around not only their local communities but almost the whole of Wales and for one lady as far as Finland!
“Numerous mentions of the value to people of the free bus pass and many people told me that without this bus, they simply wouldn’t go out, wouldn’t go to their GP, or would have had to move away from their friends and family.
“What struck me was, once again, how something we wouldn’t traditionally see as being one of our top priorities was, in fact, seen by older people themselves as one of the most important public services in their lives.
“I haven’t been anywhere where the importance of being able to get from A to B has not been mentioned or, when it has been mentioned, when it hasn’t clearly enabled people to stay in touch, included and made such a difference to people’s quality of life and well being.”
The Commissioner thanked all the passengers who shared the bus and their experiences with her including county head of transport Stephen Pilliner, and all his team.
The county council has secured a total of £2.95 million pounds of external funding to help develop the Bwcabus concept and provide a sustainable public transport system in the long term.
This flagship integrated transport service, has won awards and received received national acclaim, and now has expanded operations to the areas of Lampeter, Llanybydder, Felinfach and Llangeithio.”
These are the potent words of praise from Older Peoples’ Commissioner for Wales, Sarah Rochira, after she took a trip with passengers in deepest Ceredigion discovering for some that Bwcabus was “the most important public service in their lives.”
The Commissioner wanted to chat with passengers and council officers about the Bwcabus services continuing success helping people travel around Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire’s remoter parts.
One of these passenegers riding Bwcabus with the Commissioner was Margaret from Rhydlewis who said: “If it wasn’t for Bwcabus I would have to move. It is a lifeline for me.”
Another passenger, Mary, said: “Without Bwcabus most of us would not go out.
And passenger Mrs Cross told the Commissioner: “I could not go to my GP if the bus did not pick me up.”
In her blog Mrs Rochira wrote: “The bus is so clearly more than transport. It’s a place where people meet, catch up with each other and the local news. For many of them it’s their community hall.
“What was so impressive about this service was that it combines delivering a practical, tailor-made rural transport service with mainstream public transport services, ensuring that people, with one phone call and one ticket, can get around not only their local communities but almost the whole of Wales and for one lady as far as Finland!
“Numerous mentions of the value to people of the free bus pass and many people told me that without this bus, they simply wouldn’t go out, wouldn’t go to their GP, or would have had to move away from their friends and family.
“What struck me was, once again, how something we wouldn’t traditionally see as being one of our top priorities was, in fact, seen by older people themselves as one of the most important public services in their lives.
“I haven’t been anywhere where the importance of being able to get from A to B has not been mentioned or, when it has been mentioned, when it hasn’t clearly enabled people to stay in touch, included and made such a difference to people’s quality of life and well being.”
The Commissioner thanked all the passengers who shared the bus and their experiences with her including county head of transport Stephen Pilliner, and all his team.
The county council has secured a total of £2.95 million pounds of external funding to help develop the Bwcabus concept and provide a sustainable public transport system in the long term.
This flagship integrated transport service, has won awards and received received national acclaim, and now has expanded operations to the areas of Lampeter, Llanybydder, Felinfach and Llangeithio.”
Comments