THE “vital” bus service linking Aberystwyth and Lampeter to Cardiff will resume, after the Welsh Government announced a replacement for the former 701 service will begin later this month.

The new T1C service was announced by economy and infrastructure cabinet secretary Ken Skates, who said the Welsh Government had acted after the shock loss of the 701 service when Llanrhystud-based Lewis Coaches went into administration in August.

That led to the collapse of the 701 service, but Mr Skates said it had been recognised how “vital” the service was.

He said: “Following the sudden closure of Lewis Coaches, we’ve acted quickly with the local authority and others to ensure that critical services were continued with as little disruption as possible, facilitating necessary alternative arrangements for buses to and from schools, for example.

“I’m delighted that we’ve been able to take on this important route, which will extend the existing T1 Traws Cymru service, linking Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Carmarthen to Swansea and Cardiff.

“Reintroducing this long-standing service provides vital public transport links to and from rural Wales, giving passengers extra choice on this key strategic route.

“We will review the service in six months to ensure it’s running as effectively as possible and is a viable long term solution, but it’s clear that this is a route which was important for us to step in to continue as quickly as possible.

“It’s meant operating additional buses on the route and so the exact timetable is still to be finalised, but our intention is to get the service up and running as early as possible this month.”

More information on the new service, including a timetable when it is finalised, will be available at www.trawscymru.info.