Annual Report 2019-20 Welcome on Board For 364 days in financial year 2019–20 the TrawsCymru® strategic bus and coach network funded by the operated key strategic services across . This Annual Report published by Welsh Government highlights key developments with the TrawsCymru® strategic bus and coach network across Wales during financial year 2019–20. The only day we did not operate a service was Christmas Day 2019!

Funding In 2019–20 the Welsh Government provided local authorities across Wales with £2.387m in revenue support funding for the network and an additional £1m for the weekend free travel scheme to provide TrawsCymru® services. The majority of the network is operated under contract, but some sections are operated commercially by bus companies such as the section of the T4 / T14 routes between and which are operated by Stagecoach in south Wales.

During the year, a comprehensive network of TrawsCymru® services operated across Wales as shown in Fig 1. The network now serves the majority of regions in Wales and is primarily provided to link communities which are not directly served by the rail network. TrawsCymru® Network Map High Passenger Satisfaction Levels Our network of services continued to receive very high levels of passenger satisfaction. Over the spring and summer of 2019, we commissioned an independent market research organisation to carry out the second wave of the TrawsCymru® Customer Satisfaction Survey, in which we interviewed over 1,500 passengers and revealed that: • Bus stops ranged from 7.8 to 8.0 out of 10 (i.e. good / very good) • Bus journeys ranged from 7.4 to 8.8 out of 10 (i.e. good / very good) • The ticket buying process ranged from 7.4 to 8.8 out of 10 (i.e. good / very good) • Overall, the TrawsCymru® service was rated at 8.9 out of 10 (i.e. very good) • Overall TrawsCymru® gained a Net Promoter Score of 59, which was very good. • Of those who had contacted TrawsCymru® customer services, 78% rated it as good or very good • Of those who had used the TrawsCymru® website, facets of its usability, scored between 3.8 and 4.0 out of 5 (i.e. rated it as easy to use).

Passenger Numbers Over the last five years, thanks to investment by the Welsh Government, passenger numbers have grown across the TrawsCymru® network.

Fig 1. Total TrawsCymru ® Network Annual Patronage trends 2007/08 to 2019/20

In financial year 2019–20 the TrawsCymru® network carried 2.46m passengers, a small decrease of -3% or 155,607 passengers compared to the previous financial year 2018-19. This was mostly due to a decrease in passenger numbers on the T3, T4 and T5 services, and a general fall in numbers during March 2019 on the lead up to the Covid 19 public health emergency. The fall in passenger numbers on the T4 have partially been displaced onto the T14 service which runs alongside between Brecon and Cardiff. Details for the individual TrawsCymru® services are shown below

Patronage Patronage % / -% Service: 2018-19 in 2019-20

T1 302,255 309,028 +2%

T2 345,814 352,114 +2%

T3 238,948 223.543 +6%

T4 550,672 361,057 -34%

T5 434,858 395,764 -9%

T6 169,478 177,183 +5%

T9 127,434 144,650 +14%

T1C 15,195 15,736 +4%

T1S 12,112 13,634 +13%

T11 88,629 103,900 +17%

T12 (*) 193,249 0%

T14 99,603 170,604 +71%

(*) Service T12 was introduced in September 2018 so there are no comparable figures for previous year

The average number of passengers carried per month during 2019-20 on the TrawsCymru® network was 205,038, and busiest month was July 2019 when 222,553 passengers travelled on the services. The overall subsidy per passenger journey on the network during 2019-20 was £4.06. Weekend Free Travel During financial year 2019–20 the Welsh Government continued its ‘ground breaking’ offer of weekend free travel for all across the TrawsCymru® network. During 2019 / 20 we carried over 501,000 passengers during weekends, which compares to 155,000 on weekends during 2016/17 the year before we first launched this initiative, which is an increase of +233% over 3 years.

We also asked over 500 passengers using our services on weekends what they thought of the initiative. This showed that: • 62% of passengers told us that free travel on TrawsCymru® services on weekends has encouraged them to make more journeys by bus throughout the week. • The weekend free travel scheme has attracted more young people onto the bus network, and 82% of passengers stated they were also very happy with TrawsCymru® services in general. • From what people told us we are able to calculate that for each £1 spent subsidising free travel, passengers who travelled with us were spending on average an additional £3 on local goods and services – thereby supporting local businesses in rural areas and small towns across Wales; and • 92% of passengers using the services on weekends are resident in Wales. Network Improvements During financial year 2019-20 we were delighted to welcome to our network a dedicated fleet of 12 new Euro 6 clean engine buses which will be used to operate the TrawsCymru® T4 Cardiff – – Brecon – Newtown and T14 Cardiff – Merthyr Tydfil – Brecon – services.

On Wednesday 3rd July 2019, Lee Walters the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport launched these eye catching new vehicles which were funded by the Welsh Government and now provide the core public transport link between Cardiff to key centres in eastern Powys.

During financial year 2019-20 we also provided funding to local authorities in north and west Wales to improve passenger facilities at bus stops on the route of the TrawsCymru® T2 service linking Bangor – – – – – and the T5 service linking Aberystwyth – Cardigan – Fishguard and . Improvements included the installation of new and more comfortable passenger shelters, raised kerbs and better information at key stops and interchange points.

Left: Bus stop and shelter at Taliesin Below: Bus stop and shelter at Wolfscastle . Continued Strong Customer Engagement During financial year 2019–20 we also continued to strengthen our TrawsCymru® Customer Engagement Programme. We revamped and relaunched the TrawsCymru® web site, continued to offer updated information via the dedicated TrawsCymru® Twitter and Facebook pages and handled 2,063 enquiries on TrawsCymru® services through our dedicated customer care partner PTI Cymru.

Social media engagements were very strong in the financial year with a total of 28,054 engagements on Twitter and Facebook.

The percentage split across Twitter contacts was one third female and two thirds male, while the percentage split across Facebook contacts was the reverse at two thirds female and one third male.

Dealing with Covid 19 In March 2019 the network experienced the unprecendented challenges presented by the Covid 19 public health emergency. Thanks to our dedicated service delivery partners we have managed to provide a reduced core service across the TrawsCymru® network for key workers. Whilst this did impact on the number of people travelling with us in March 2020 our priority was on ensuring the continued safety of our drivers and passengers who continued to rely on our services for essential journeys. As many of our services serve key hospitals and health care facilities we were delighted to introduce free travel throughout the week for NHS staff.

Bottom left: The picture shows a TrawsCymru® vehicle being deep cleaned during the Covid 19 emergency by a professional firm. This cleaning will take place regularly until the crisis has passed. Bottom right: TrawsCymru® T2 and T3 operator Lloyds Coaches ensuring social distancing on their coaches

© Crown copyright 2020 WG40661 Digital ISBN: 978-1-80082-230-6 Mae’r ddogfen yma hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg. This document is also available in Welsh.