BEFORE it was announced last week that the 585 bus service between Aberystwyth and Lampeter had been secured for six months, reporter Alex Bowen, caught the bus to find out what the service means to those who use it.

There was a risk that the service would cease at the end of the month, but on Friday, Ceredigion County Council announced that the 585 will continue to run for the next six months, but will operate on a reduced timetable.

The 585 bus runs from Aberystwyth to Lampeter, and stops in many towns throughout its journey, towns such as Tregaron, Llanddewi-Brefi, Llettum-ddu, Lledrod, Llanilar and more.

Alex spoke to passengers and the driver on Thursday to get their views

Paddy, one of the 585’s bus drivers said: “They’re reducing the buses because they say passenger footfall is falling, but I’ve been on the bus for the last five years.

“It obviously dropped during covid but it’s now improving tenfold.

“I have more people on my bus now than I did before covid. So to reduce the service, or cut it all together, is beyond what I would have imagined would happen.

“The bus is often full, you can see it especially at 11 o’clock, there are so many people on the bus at that time, who need to use it, and won’t have any other way to get the things they need.”

Christine Lambert and her husband from Cellan near Lampeter use the bus almost every day.

She said: “I’ve lived here since 1975, and this is the best service we’ve had in 40 years. It’s a very good service, it’s very communal, personal, friendly and patient.”

“We’re stressed and anxious, we don’t want to lose this service.

“There are things we can’t dispute, costs are going up, and petrol is one of those costs, there is a shortage of drivers too.

“But what we can dispute is the claim that there are less people using the bus. I haven’t seen a reduced footfall. Many people who use it are elderly, and can ride it with a bus pass, meaning they don’t make any money off of those people, I don’t know if that’s made a difference.”

“We have nothing here in Cellan, we have no post office, no shops, or even a pub. It’s not just the impact of us as passengers, it’s the impact on local businesses, and the community.

“In the beginning of October, part of the road in Cellan was closed, and it meant the bus had to miss the town to get around it. It was only three days, but the effects of it were like a lockdown all over again, it was awful. We were completely isolated, we couldn’t even pick up a morning paper. We’re not the only village with these problems either, it’s every village along this route.”

“It’s all about keeping people independent, keeping people socially included, and allowing people to get on with their daily lives - shopping, medical appointments, schools and work. I know one person who’s had to reduce his hours at work already because he can’t get a bus at 5pm, but what is anyone meant to do without the service running at all? People need it to get their flu jabs in Aberystwyth and Lampeter, people need to reach these towns for vaccinations, as well as the covid jab. We need this bus service, and I don’t know what we can do without it.”

Mr Harry Pepper rides the bus weekly to visit a friend who lives in Llanilar, but used to use it daily for work.

He said “I used to be a regular user of the service, I used to catch it all the time for work. You see the same people riding it day in and day out.

“My friend lives in Llanilar, and we meet every Monday to go and grab a drink and catch up with each other.

“I live in Lledrod, I tried to choose a place that was on a bus route - but that won’t be the case anymore. I’m lucky that I can survive, as I can drive, but without it I will be quite hampered, and I doubt I have it the toughest.

“Sure it’s only a pint with my friend for me, but the two of us look forward to it, and enjoy being able to do it.

“I don’t see how you can get around it, the villages between Aberystwyth and Lampeter need a bus service. Most of these villages don’t even have their own shop.”

Another passenger, Elan Jones said: “Look how many kids use it every day to go to school, many use it to go to Aberystwyth, and others use it to go to Tregaron school.

“I don’t know how that is going to work without the 585. The school in Tregaron is a Welsh medium school, surely this will isolate it, and the language.”

Erin Smeaton, who is preparing for her driving test, uses the bus three or four times a week to go and see her boyfriend.

She said: “I’ve used it for a year and a half by now. I don’t really know how we can get around it, neither of us can drive yet, so without it we’re probably going to have to see each other a lot less. I don’t get why it needs to close, it is pretty annoying and inconvenient.”

She continued “I always see people coming on the bus with push trolleys, they must need the bus to be able to get their shopping done.”

Another woman said “It’s like they’re trying to drive us out of small towns. First they took the banks away, now they’re taking the bus too.”

Two men who called themselves ‘the local boys’, who pointed out when the bus arrived that their favourite driver was onboard, said the potential end of the service left them “devastated”, adding “how are we meant to get into town without it?”