Pembrokeshire council has almost concluded its purchase of one of the largest bus companies in the county and is due to take over the operator’s public and schools services on 1 December. The operation will have to sit alongside the authority’s other transport operations for the foreseeable future, because the Welsh Government has still not enabled the formation of new municipal bus companies.

Last year, Edwards Brothers of Tiers Cross, Haverfordwest, signalled its intention to withdraw from the bus market. In January 2022, council officers estimated that this further reduction in competition for contracts, coinciding with rising bus operating costs, would result in the authority paying £300,000 per annum to secure the same services. Buying the company is expected to avoid such a large increase in revenue expenditure.