Around one hundred people attended a meeting with an MP on Tuesday evening to express their concerns and frustrations over cuts to essential bus services in the Townhill and Mayhill area of Swansea.

Member of Parliament for Swansea West, Geraint Davies met residents at the Phoenix Centre to hear  their experiences of bus travel since the cuts to local services were introduced by First Cymru in October last year.

The buses serving Townhill and Mayhill were significantly reduced, with the Townhill circular (numbers 12 and 13) being cut by a third and the Mayhill circular (number 11) being removed altogether with the route incorporated into the Townhill circular.

This not only reduced the frequency of the service but also extended the length of the journey from 15 minutes to over half an hour.

Additionally, the operating hours of these services, as well as the number 16 which serves the Gors Avenue area of the hill, have been reduced, starting later in the morning and finishing earlier in the evening.

Now, First Cymru is proposing an increase in the day ticket from £4.20 to £6 and has introduced a ‘tap on/tap off’ system (TOTO) of payment which charges customers depending on the length of their journey.

Mr Davies told attendees that he wanted to garner opinions and a mandate to present a case for reinstating the services to First Cymru and Swansea Council.

Geraint Davies MP said “I’m really grateful to all the people who gave their time to come to my public meeting on Townhill/Mayhill bus services at the Phoenix Centre and for all the powerful points made.

“First Cymru has cut the bus services and are raising the fares to make more money. In particular they have cut the no 12 and 13 buses for Townhill and Mayhill from half-hourly to hourly services and withdrawn the no 11 and no 16 completely. Meanwhile, First Group who own First Cymru have seen profits up from £66million in 2022 to £101 million in 2023 with passenger numbers up 20 per cent.

“Buses are cancelled and unreliable and with people regularly waiting an hour for a bus then being crammed unsafely onto old buses that then take ages going up the hill often breaking down. It’s sometimes cheaper for two people to get an Uber which is bad for the environment and underlines that the prices are extortionate.

“The unreliability of the buses has lost people their jobs, made them miss hospital appointments (in particular in Port Talbot Hospital where there are now more appointments) and university lectures. The tap on tap off system means you don’t know what you’re paying and is charged by the mile so the 12 and 13 are different prices to get to the same place (unlike Bridgend which is as the crow flies).

“The information centre at the central bus station isn’t helpful and buses often go to the wrong bay meaning people waiting with mobility problems end up at the back of the queue and miss the bus. There’s more priority given to the student Bay campus buses and free service in school holidays (that often the driver doesn’t tell people about so they still pay) than providing a decent service for those in greatest need ie people reliant on buses living on the Hill.

“I’ll be putting together a full account of what was said and meeting up with First Cymru and the Council to make these points and to invite them to a future meeting.

“Neath PortTalbot spend £3million reinstating 42 lost services (£70,000 a route) and we need the no 11 reinstated and more frequent no 12 and 13. The Bus Network grant for Wales is £39m for Wales and a small part of Swansea’s share of £3million would get the services back and cheaper.

“I’ll be reporting back a fuller account and arranging the meetings to press for improvements. Meanwhile keep sending me your comments to info@geraintdavies.org.uk and to the Council.

“Thanks again. Together we can get our bus service back on track to be more frequent and affordable so it’s a public service not an over-priced second-rate system.”