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Transport (Wales) Bill

My Lords, I am sorry. There are two or three noble Lords who are not of Wales. I withdraw that remark. But all noble Lords who are from Wales are eligible. Bus routes, which would otherwise have disappeared because there were not enough passengers or income, were safeguarded. I am so glad that England and—as I hear from my noble friend Lord Mar and Kellie—Scotland are moving in that direction. What Wales does today, the rest of the United Kingdom follows suit tomorrow. As one who avails himself of the freedom pass in London, I know that one can use it not only on buses but, at certain times, on railway routes. Could that not be considered by the Assembly? My noble friend Lord Bradshaw referred to the co-ordination of timetables and how that is forbidden. At the beginning, we had very unhealthy competition by various bus companies in order to be the first to pick up customers. The Government must think again on that. Co-ordination of timetables and routes is essential in order to have the best possible service to meet the needs of the people of our communities. Some people may say, ““But we need choice””. Choice is not a word that we can use in most of Wales. There may be one shop, one school and one doctor’s practice, and the nearest one may be many miles away. Choice might exist in areas of greater population, but not in rural areas. Without choice—except Hobson’s choice—we must ensure that we present people with the very best that can be provided. The only bus needs to meet the needs of local passengers. Co-ordination must make certain that connections are met. For example, a train may arrive at Llandudno Junction from Blaenau Ffestiniog at 10.03 am, but the London train has just gone. We must consider the whole issue. I am sure that the new set-up in Wales will be very helpful in providing the best overall transport strategy for Wales. As regards air transport, we have a small budget and everything has to be met from the present Assembly budget. We need to look at that very thoroughly. What is the best use of the money available? Is any commercial company ready to undertake this type of travel? More than a feasibility study is needed. Thoroughgoing research is necessary in order to investigate whether, if we had money and anyone could convince us, it would not be better spent on air transport or on improving our roads and railways. At the moment, I think that the jury is out on that. If there are proposals on that, we need to be thoroughly convinced that they are the right proposals. We look forward to the debates in Committee. We are all going in the same direction. Together, I am sure that we will try to ensure that the best fully-integrated transport service will serve adequately the people of Wales.