It’s the most wonderful time of the year… to catch a bus! Monmouthshire shoppers and commuters are being encouraged to use public transport to help the county address the climate emergency. As an extra incentive and in time for Christmas, Monmouthshire County Council has confirmed that all weekend bus journeys within the county will be free to all users every weekend in December.
Passengers will be able to use this free offer, funded by Welsh Government, for any journey that has a start point and end point within Monmouthshire. It’s hoped this will encourage Christmas shoppers and commuters to use the bus to do a spot of Christmas shopping, visiting friends and relatives, or simply getting to work. It’s also a great way to travel to get to a train station for trips further afield.
Councillor Catrin Maby, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment, said: “We’re so pleased to have secured Welsh Government funding to help encourage residents to use the county’s buses more. Every weekend in December on the approach to Christmas you’ll be able to hop on to any service for a journey between two locations in Monmouthshire and not have to pay. So why not have a day trip for a spot of Christmas shopping, or go car-free on your journey to and from work?
“Monmouthshire County Council have introduced electric buses into the fleet on some routes in the county, and we’re working to build upon this. If you’re able to, I would encourage everyone to take advantage of this fantastic scheme, which starts on Saturday 3rd December and runs until the end of December. It’s the perfect excuse to leave the car at home.”
The free weekend bus travel comes in addition to free parking in council owned car parks every weekend in December, which has run for the previous two years to help support local businesses and encourage more people to shop within Monmouthshire. It is being offered again this year from Saturday 3rd December for those who are not able to travel by bus. Council car parks in the scheme are in Abergavenny, Chepstow and Monmouth (there are already free car parks in other locations in the county’s other towns).
The Deputy Minister for Climate Change with responsibility for Transport, Lee Waters said,
“I am very pleased to support this free bus scheme for Monmouthshire. The scheme will not only help families make savings during a cost of living crisis on the lead-up to Christmas, it will provide a boost to the bus industry and local economy as well as encourage people to make the switch to a more sustainable form of transport.”
To find out about Monmouthshire’s bus services visit www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/buses-trains/bus-timetables-2/. A list of the council-owned car park can be found at www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/car-parks/
