Bus timetables will be reduced and one service replaced in Ceredigion from September, as the council and service operators get to grips with ever-decreasing funding and falling passenger numbers, with warnings that April could see further reductions as subsidies dry up.

Ceredigion County Council said that from 1 September, the 525 Aberystwyth – Ponterwyd (Llanidloes) route will be replaced by an amended X47 service, while timetables will be changed for the T21, 585 and 588 services between Aberystwyth and Tregaron and Lampeter.­

The changes come as more warnings over the future of bus services in Wales are again brought into the spotlight over funding fears and a fall in passenger numbers since the onset of the pandemic.

The Cambrian News has reported extensively on bus cuts in Ceredigion and across the region, as the council attempts to cut its cloth to new funding models, with operators refusing to tender for some services that were deemed financially unviable to run.

Fears for the future of services in Ceredigion began swirling last year after the Welsh Government announced it was ending the pandemic funding for bus services, with the council announcing that popular routes would have to be cut, including the 585 service which led to protests and petitions from residents.

The service was handed a reprieve earlier this year thanks to the extension of the Welsh Government subsidy, but bus operators, the council and charities are warning that without a long-term solution services will be under threat again by April next year.

While the Welsh Government has announced an extension to a funding model introduced during the pandemic to prop up services, Ceredigion County Council has said it will “continue to lobby the Welsh Government to increase funding for our rural bus services”.

According to Department of Transport figures passenger numbers in Wales have almost halved since Covid, falling from 101 million in 2018-19 to 52 million in 2021-22.

The service cutbacks to account for falling numbers, however, are taking away a lifeline for thousands of older people in rural areas, Age Cymru has said, with warnings from the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), which represents bus companies, that when the short-term Welsh Government funding runs out next year, around a quarter of services could be lost.

Age Cymru chief executive Victoria Lloyd said: “The impact of poor public transport on the lives of older people can be profound.

“We want operators, local authorities, and the Welsh Government to work together to find a sustainable solution to ensure that people can go about their daily lives getting out and about in the community.”

CPT Cymru director Aaron Hill said: “We could have seen 20 to 25 per cent of the whole network in Wales cut as a result of this most recent funding ended.

“We don’t want to be in that position in March and April.

“The industry wants to be able to grow to run new services and to reach places that they are not able to at the moment, but the level of funding isn’t there.

“We need to work with Welsh government to find a solution beyond April.”

Ceredigion council’s cabinet member for highways and environmental services and carbon management, Cllr Keith Henson, said: “I would like to thank the local bus operators for working with us at this very difficult and challenging time for the industry.

“The level of service we will be able to provide makes the most of the available funding and reflects what the operators are willing and able to provide at this time.

“We continue to lobby the Welsh Government to increase funding for our rural bus services and provide transport for those who use buses regularly and those who can’t access private car use.

“However, moving forward, bus services will need to be well used on a regular and ongoing basis if they are to be environmentally as well as financially sustainable and viable.”

A council spokesperson said: “The level of service it is possible to provide at this stage is reflective of the financial support provided by the Welsh Government’s Bus Transition Fund.

“This is the latest intervention to support the bus industry as we move forward and away from the funding arrangements put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The changes do not impact or influence the Welsh Government’s TrawsCymru services (T1, T1C, T1X, T2 or T5) or the 408 Cardigan Town Service, 552 Cardi Bach or Bwcabus that operate in Ceredigion or the local bus services that are provided on a commercial basis by operators (X28, 301, 304, 512, 522 or 6).”

The Welsh government said it was supporting councils with bus-priority measures to keep passengers moving and make bus travel more attractive

A spokesperson added: “Our priority up until now been ensuring services continue to run and that we are not facing wholesale collapse of the industry.

“We are now working on the funding offer for next year.”