A VITAL bus service linking Ceredigion with Cardiff is to be reinstated following intervention by the Welsh Government.

The move comes after the operator, Lewis Coaches, announced it was to halt the Aberystwyth to Cardiff route. The decision left many public transport users fuming with no alternative linking Ceredigion to the capital. capitol.

However, First Minister Carwyn Jones has now stated that a replacement bus service will be in place “within weeks”.

Mr Jones told Assembly Members that the Welsh Government had been working with local authorities to ensure that key bus services to west Wales are reinstated as quickly as possible.

“We expect the service to be reinstated within weeks,” he said.

“I remember the TrawsCambria service in the 1980s and went on it a number of times, but there is a long-term question here.

“We can’t continue with a system that sees services stopping because the bus company no longer runs. We have to have a better system.”

Ceredigion AM Elin Jones welcomed the intervention.

“I welcome the statement by the First Minister on the Aberystwyth to Cardiff service, but caution is needed,” she said. “While he has said that he expects the service to be reinstated, we are yet to hear specific plans.

“What I do hope is that if the Assembly gains powers over bus services in 2018, there will be a long-lasting plan to secure these vital services which link our communities and provide essential travel to so many people across Ceredigion.”

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Since the loss of the bus service residents have been stuck overnight in Carmarthen after train services ran late meaning they missed a bus back to the county.

AM for Mid and West Wales Simon Thomas said: “For over 30 years we have had a reliable and consistent bus service between Cardiff and Aberystwyth. A bus service which has been uninterrupted until this summer.

“This is the first time we’ve lost the bus service which was so attractive to old-age pensioners and students alike.”