PORTHMADOG town councillors have accused Gwynedd Council of putting jobs at risk in the ongoing bus “fiasco”.

Since Express Motors lost their licence to operate buses at the start of 2018, residents across Dwyfor and Meirionnydd have had to make do with a skeleton public transport service, with some smaller villages dropping off the timetable completely.

Following a call to action from the Cambrian News and Porthmadog town council chair Simon Brooks, a ‘call ahead’ service has been instigated in Borth-y-Gest and Morfa Bychan where before residents without private transport were left abandoned.

Now, several weeks into the new year, the situation remains unacceptable, according to Porthmadog town councillors who have expressed their concern.

Porthmadog Town Council chair, Cllr Simon Brooks, said: “In the January meeting, councillors voted to condemn the current situation with regards to public transport in the Porthmadog area.

“The council is concerned of course about the situation in villages like Borth-y-Gest and Morfa Bychan where the bus has been replaced by a dial-up service which you have to call 24 hours before-hand.

“But the council is just as concerned that only a skeleton service is being run on many key routes, such as between Caernarfon and Porthmadog, and between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Porthmadog.

“Caernarfon is an economic hub in Gwynedd and to make it harder for people to get there is bound to affect jobs.

“We are very concerned that we are now into the fourth week of this crisis, and we are still no nearer to getting this sorted out.”

A spokesperson for Gwynedd Council said: “We appreciate that any change can cause inconvenience, but the decision to revoke Express Motors’ licences was beyond our control.”

Read the full story in today’s Arfon/Dwyfor edition of the Cambrian News