STUDENTS who attend colleges in Dwyfor and Meirionnydd took part in a protest to oppose plans to increase their travel costs.

Coleg Meirion Dwyfor’s Student Union held a protest on Eldon Square in Dolgellau on 1 March in response to Gwynedd Council’s plan to increase the termly +16 bus token from £60 to £100.

The protest included a mixture of students from college campuses in Dolgellau, Pwllheli and Glynllifon as well as parents and members of the public who are disappointed with the bus services in the Dwyfor and Meirionnydd area.

Steffan Chambers, Student Union president said: “Students at the college are outraged at the proposed plans to raise the 16+ travel token to £100.

“The bus services are unpunctual, inadequate, overcrowded and inflexible.

Cllr Eryl Jones-Williams, who represents Dyffryn Ardudwy on Gwynedd Council, attended the protest to support the students and said that when Gwynedd Council decided to close the sixth forms in secondary schools in Meirionnydd, an undertaking was given that transport to the college in Dolgellau would be free.

He said: “The council went back on that undertaking, and that to my mind was wrong.

“I also agree with the students that an increase from £60 per term to £100 was too high an increase, especially for families with more than one student at the college.

see this week’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News for the full story