A NEW bus route has been introduced in the Cardigan area to ensure a regular service continues to run to St Dogmaels.

Richards Bros has merged the 406 and 407 services to create a new 408 route that will serve both St Dogmaels and Cardigan town.

It is understood the company had been looking at axing the route altogether, which is run purely as a commercial business and attracts no subsidy, but has worked with both Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion County Councils to introduce the new service.

St Dogmaels county councillor Mike James was keen for the service to continue operating and was heavily involved in coming up with a solution.

“It looked like the old 407 route out to Poppit would disappear completely and that would not have been good for people who rely on it to go into Cardigan, especially those coming in for work” said Cllr James.

“We worked with Richards Bros and the county councils to come up with this solution which will still get passengers into town early, though the last bus back is at 4.24pm and that’s the one big drawback at the moment.

“The local authority has not got the money to fund new services so it was vital that this one was kept going and it is also important as we are trying to keep cars off the road.”

The new timetable came into effect at the start of September and copies are available from the Cardigan office on 01239 613756 or downloaded at Richardsbros.co.uk