AT A public meeting all in attendance were unanimous that Arriva Buses Wales should reinstate the 14 and 15 services so that a Conwy village is no longer cut off from public transport.

Last month, Arriva axed the bus route that would pick up residents in the village of Penrhynside without consulting the community or elected members.

During the public meeting held by Janet Finch-Saunders MS at Penrhynside Village Hall, attendees called the the decision to be reversed.

The meeting heard how the decision had impacted those living in the hill top village

  • Residents having to walk up and down steep and dangerous hills to reach public transport;
  • Residents navigating muddy and unlit paths to reach bus stops
  • No option but private cars or expensive taxis to get to and from Llandudno
  • A local pub contemplating closing a few night of the week, and questioning the future viability of remaining in business in the village
  • Strong feeling of isolation

After the meeting, a petition was launched calling for the services to be reinstated.

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Also, Mrs Finch-Saunders has written to Arriva Buses Wales and Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister for Climate Change, highlighting local anger and the need for urgent action.

Penrhynside public meeting.

Penrhynside public meeting.

Commenting after the public meeting, she said: “I would like to thank everyone who attended. The room was unanimous that Arriva should reinstate the bus services they axed without any consultation.

“Action by Arriva has cut off an entire community, caused those who can to walk up and down extremely steep hills to get to the nearest bus stops, traverse muddy and unlit paths to reach the village, and feel vulnerable and isolated.

“The data used by Arriva is flawed. They seem to only count how many people get on, not off the bus in Penrhynside.

“So severe is the impact that a local pub in Penrhynside is now contemplating closing a few nights of the week, or even closing up completely.

“The bus company have completely underestimated the importance of the services to the community, and are now paying the consequences.

“20mph is not a justifiable reason for cutting off the community.

"In fact, should the 14 and 15 buses return to Bryn-y-Bia Road, their route would be around 15 meters shorter!”

The cancelled Penrynside stop means the nearest bus stops now listed on the Arriva website are in Craigside and Craig y Don.

Last month, a spokesperson for Arriva Wales blamed the new 20mph speed limit introduced in September.

“Due to the 20mph restrictions that were put in place, we were forced to review all our services in order to keep them as punctual as possible,” she said.

“In the case of services 14 and 15, we had to make the decision to give the route more time and change the route to quicker roads in order to maintain overall punctuality.

“Since these changes were implemented, punctuality has increased significantly; however, we take all passenger comments onboard and will review these services regularly.”