Women hit by transport cuts

The Western Mail  has highlighted the Bevan Foundation’s report for Powys County Council which showed that women, as well as older and younger people, will be badly hit by cuts in subsidies for public transport.

Journalist Rhodri Clarke reported that “A respected think tank, the Bevan Foundation, has warned that women have fewer opportunities to work or study if buses are removed – while children could also be affected if mothers cannot take them to and from places such as libraries and leisure centres.”

The article said that the Department for Transport revealed that passenger journeys on Welsh buses had fallen by 4.4% in the year to the end of June 2013 – the biggest decline in Britain.

The article noted that the Foundation’s “evidence of isolation – for women, young and disabled people and pensioners – was so stark that the council scrapped the plan. It now aims to meet its savings target by thinning out bus services across the county.”