With the Welsh Government now in Plaid Cymru’s hands, families in Rhondda Cynon Taf are asking a simple question: when does the campaigning become action?
For months, Heledd Fychan MS — Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd for South Wales Central — has been one of the loudest voices against the controversial cuts to home-to-school transport in Rhondda Cynon Taf. She has stood alongside parents at packed public meetings, supported the Save the School Transport RCT campaign, raised the issue repeatedly on the floor of the Senedd, and described the current rules as “absurd.” She has been right to do so.
Now, with Plaid Cymru having won the Senedd election and forming the Welsh Government, the question for families across RCT — and across Wales — is this: will words finally become action?
The problem in RCT
In September 2025, RCT Council raised the eligibility distance for free secondary school transport from 2 miles to 3 miles. Overnight, thousands of pupils lost their entitlement. Many now face long, costly, and in some cases genuinely unsafe journeys — some stretching up to 6 miles each way. Welsh-medium and faith school pupils have been particularly hard hit, as their nearest suitable school is often further away by design. Families already stretched by the cost-of-living crisis have been left to pick up the bill — or keep their children at home.
his is not simply a local council failure. The root cause lies in the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure, the legislation which sets the statutory thresholds that councils operate within. Fychan herself has acknowledged this, urging Welsh Government ministers to review and amend the Measure to prevent local authorities from using its loopholes to cut services in the first place.
In her own words, shared with the Save the School Transport RCT community:
“The evidence shows the current statutory thresholds and guidance are not working. The Welsh Government is reviewing the guidance, but urgent action and cross-party cooperation is needed to ensure every child can access education safely.”
— Heledd Fychan MS
That statement was made in opposition. It was the right diagnosis. But now Plaid Cymru is the Welsh Government. The reviewing, the urging, the cross-party pressure — all of that was the work of opposition. Government means delivery.
Fychan has secured Senedd debates on this issue, challenged ministers face-to-face, gathered case studies from affected families, and stood on platforms organised by the Save the School Transport RCT campaign. That record of commitment deserves acknowledgement. But the parents of RCT — and of communities across Wales where this same problem is playing out — need to know that it will now be matched with legislative change.
The question AberdareOnline is putting to the MS
Now that your party leads the Welsh Government, will you amend the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure to restore meaningful, statutory protection for school transport — not just in RCT, but across Wales? Will you commit to reinstating free school bus provision for every child who needs it, regardless of which school they attend or how far from the school gate they live?
The children of Rhondda Cynon Taf have waited long enough. Some are walking six miles a day. Some have stopped attending altogether. Attendance figures, already fragile after the pandemic, do not recover when a child cannot physically reach their classroom.
Plaid Cymru campaigned, in part, on fairness for Welsh communities. There is no fairer test of that commitment than whether a child in the Cynon Valley can get to school safely and without cost to their family.
We look forward to hearing from Heledd Fychan MS — and we will publish her response in full.
AberdareOnline contacted Heledd Fychan MS for comment before publication and received no response.
The Save the School Transport RCT campaign is available on Facebook.
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