"It will not be quick" — Heledd Fychan MS responds on school bus cuts, but families in RCT face a long wait

The Plaid Cymru MS acknowledges the situation is “clearly unacceptable” — but warns that bringing buses back will be complex, and that the 2026 council elections will be crucial.

After AberdareOnline contacted Heledd Fychan MS ahead of publishing our investigation into the school transport cuts in Rhondda Cynon Taf, we received a reply from her office. We publish it here in full — and examine what it means for the thousands of families still waiting for their children’s school buses to return.

The response is welcome. Fychan has been one of the most consistent voices on this issue, and the fact that she replied at all — and replied honestly — should be noted. But honest answers sometimes contain difficult news, and this one does.

Her reply — published in full

Thanks for your email, and for sharing the article with me.

As you are aware, this is a matter I feel passionately about and have raised time and time again in the Senedd in recent years. The evidence shared with me, and stories shared, show that what is in place isn’t working, hence why I have supported campaigners.

This is the commitment made in the Plaid Cymru manifesto: “Further, we will review the Learner Travel Measure, and work with local authorities to maximise the number of families that are able to access school transport, addressing particular barriers to accessing Welsh-medium education.”

Timescales have not been agreed yet, and I won’t be leading on this work on behalf of the government. I will continue to campaign for the changes as a constituency MS, as will my Plaid Cymru colleagues for Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, Lis and Sara, and for Afan Ogwr Rhondda, Sera, Alun and Elyn. I have been very honest with campaigners that bringing buses back will be complex and take time because once a service is lost, it can be difficult to reinstate. It will not only require changes to the Learner Travel Measure but also having Councillors elected that understand the importance of this and drive the change. Next year’s Council elections will therefore be crucially important.

The fact that some children are missing school because of the cost of transport, or the lack of transport, should concern us all and is clearly unacceptable.

Kind regards,
Heledd.

What she is saying — and what she is not

There are things in this reply that families in RCT will find reassuring. Fychan acknowledges plainly that the current situation is “clearly unacceptable.” She references a firm manifesto commitment from Plaid Cymru to review the Learner Travel Measure. And she names her fellow Plaid Cymru members across the RCT area — Lis, Sara, Sera, Alun and Elyn — as allies in continuing to push for change.

But there are things in this reply that will concern those same families. She confirms that no timescales have been agreed. She confirms she will not personally be leading on this work within government. And she is candid about the complexity of what lies ahead — warning that once a bus service is lost, it is genuinely difficult to reinstate.

Perhaps most significantly, she points to the 2026 council elections as a crucial factor — meaning that even with the right Welsh Government legislation in place, families in RCT will need sympathetic councillors at local level before things can truly change. That is another year of waiting, at minimum.

The key questions that remain unanswered

Who in the Welsh Government will be leading on the review of the Learner Travel Measure — and when will that review begin?

Will the review result in binding changes that prevent councils like RCT from cutting services in future, or only guidance?

What support is available right now for the children who are already missing school?

The reality on the ground

Since September 2025, RCT Council has required secondary school pupils to live more than 3 miles from their school before qualifying for free transport — up from the previous 2 miles. For families in the valleys, where distances to Welsh-medium and faith schools are often much greater, the impact has been severe. Children are walking unsafe routes. Others have simply stopped going in. Attendance figures that were already fragile after the pandemic have suffered further.

AberdareOnline will continue to follow this story closely. We will be asking the Welsh Government directly who is now responsible for the Learner Travel Measure review, and when families can expect to see results.

In the meantime, we would encourage every affected family in RCT to make their voice heard — to their MS, to their councillors, and, ahead of the 2026 local elections, to every candidate who comes knocking on their door.

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