THE future of the direct bus service between Aberystwyth and Cardiff has been secured for at least another six months, it has been announced.

The First Cymru-operated T1C service, launched on a six-month trial in December to replace the 701 service, which ended with the collapse of Llanrhystud-based Lewis’ Coaches, will continue to run as usual until December.

The Welsh Government announcement comes just weeks after First Cymru announced the bus service would terminate on Saturday, 3 June, despite the minister for economy and infrastructure Ken Skates AM maintaining “no decision has yet been taken”.

Mr Skates said the six-month extension to the current pilot will allow the Welsh Government to better assess the needs and travel patterns of customers, taking account of the summer tourist season and beyond, before making a long-term decision on the service.

He said: “When we introduced the T1C service a little under six months ago, we did so to facilitate direct bus travel between west Wales and Cardiff.

“We’ve since seen this service used by a variety of groups and individuals, from students to shoppers to holiday-goers.

“At the same time, however, we have made no secret that the service is not as popular as we might have expected.

“This can perhaps be explained by the introduction of a commercial service run by Stagecoach Megabus earlier this year covering largely the same route, albeit with notable exceptions.

“Given this, I think there is great merit in extending the pilot for another six months."

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