Taxis called in to replace buses

Villagers in Ceredigion are angry that their local bus services have been replaced by taxis which they have to order 24 hours in advance.

The scheme, which started this month, affects services from several villages to Lampeter and Aberystwyth.

Resident Sarah Jane Morgan, who has called the service "pretty awful", has started a petition against it.

A spokesman for Ceredigion council said buses which were carrying just one or two people were not sustainable.

Ms Morgan, from Penbontrhydybeddau, said the taxi service was not popular.

"I think fewer people are using the service because it is so difficult to access," she said.

Ideally I think we would rather a regular scheduled bus Sarah Jane Morgan

"And you have to do it 24 hours in advance in office hours.

"So if you want a bus on a Monday, you have to ring the previous Friday.

"It is very difficult to book so far in advance.

"And if you have a hospital appointment, you don't know how long it will take and you have to organise a taxi back.

"Ideally I think we would rather a regular scheduled bus."

Ann Edwards, also from Penbontrhydybeddau, added that losing the regular buses was "a big blow to the community".

"And not just to the youngsters, but to the older people who need their pension, who only want to go four miles down the road."

If nobody wants to go, the taxi doesn't go Tommy Jones, Ceredigion Council

Tommy Jones, from Ceredigion County Council, said the service was trying to stop buses being "very much underused".

"We have one or two people on buses, and if you look at it that way, they are not sustainable," he said.

"But yet people in rural communities need a way to get to different towns for their shopping and for their doctors.

"So what we have looked at is a 'taxibus' service which is a better service, but you have to book to use it.

"If nobody wants to go, the taxi doesn't go."

Taxi driver Rob Lauder admitted there had been teething problems with the service.

"The first week or so was a bit messed up because a lot of them didn't realise they had to phone in the day before," he said.

"They were just waiting on the bus stops."

But he pointed out that passengers could now get to town much quicker - because the taxi did not have to go places unless someone there had made a booking.