COUNCIL chiefs could have saved Aberystwyth’s park and ride service by slightly increasing how much is charged, councillors have said.

The contract with Mid Wales Travel to run the park and ride service expires at the end of August and the council’s Cabinet has decided not to renew it.

The Cabinet says that low passenger numbers and the closure of Caradog Road for nine months while work takes place at Bronglais Hospital means the £69,000 the council spends on the service annually cannot be justified.

But backbench councillors have hit out at the decision and insisted that increasing the fee for the park and ride to £2 could have seen extra income of £30,000 towards the cost of the service.

Cllr Ceredig Davies has also criticised how the future of the service was decided, insisting it should have been discussed by the Aberystwyth Traffic Management committee who could have sought alternative options.

Transport Cabinet member Alun Williams said, with the council facing increasing financial pressures, it could not afford to keep funding the service.

He said: “No-one in this room wants to see services cut, but we’re facing substantial cuts from central government as well as the very unfair funding settlement for rural councils.”

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