Public transport in Tenby was up for discussion at a meeting of the town council this week.

Correspondence from Pembrokeshire County Council’s passenger transport co-ordinator, Owen Roberts, came before members of Tenby Town Council at their meeting on Tuesday, explaining that the 361 bus service from Pembroke Dock to Tenby, currently operated by Edwards Coaches six-days-a-week, would cease in the New Year as the operators had withdrawn their contract.

Mr. Roberts explained that due to the county council’s current financial situation, any replacement service implemented would have to be substantially reduced.

He said that the county council has already made significant reductions to the Public Transport budget, with further reductions required over the next four years, therefore any ongoing financial support that Tenby Town Council could provide would help to ensure that the community continues to be served by this particular bus service.

Tenby Civic Society, who recently carried out a survey on the provision of public bus services in the Tenby area, have suggested to the county council that the existing 361 service route be amended to include sections that the old Tenby Town Service bus covered - namely Lady Park, Upper Hill Park, and the circular route around The Glebe.

“The town service was well patronised by the town’s senior citizens and is sorely missed,” said Civic Society member, Neil Westerman, suggesting that the route be simplified to operate from Pembroke Dock and serve Carew, Sageston and St. Florence, but omit the very lightly used section via Cresselly and Kilgetty, which were served by other services.

“It would also be possible to reduce operating costs by utilising a smaller bus than that used by Edwards Coaches,” he added.

Clr. Mike Evans told his colleagues at Tuesday night’s meeting that there were some ‘good ideas and sensible suggestions’ included in the Civic Society’s correspondence to the county council.

He added that he himself was due to meet with Mr. Roberts to discuss matters, once information obtained from the county council’s on-board surveys to identify travel patterns and provide a better understanding of what was needed and financially viable, was completed.

Deputy Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown said that she didn’t know exactly what sort of financial support the county council were looking for from town and community councils to help subsidise any bus services for the area, but the town council would wait to see the outcome of Clr. Evans’s discussions with Mr. Roberts.