There will be no changes to a popular bus service with a much-loved driver, however the service could run under a different provider, the council has said.

Concerns circulating on social media that the 410 Fishguard to Goodwick Town Service was stopping have been allayed by Pembrokeshire County Council.

Western Telegraph: There will be no changes in the 410 Fishguard-Goodwick Town Service.

The council has said that there will be no cut in service on with the town service timetable and route remaining the same.

However, it is likely that the service could be provided by First Cymru from April 1 this year, due to a mandatory re-tendering exercise.

The final decision to award the contracts will be made by Pembrokeshire County’s cabinet on February 12.

“As part of the bus transition fund agreement with Welsh Government, local authorities are required to retender all bus services that require funding. These will be contracted to start from April 1 2024,” said the spokesperson.

“It is proposed that the contract for the 410 will be awarded to First Cymru. Please note, there will be no cut in service with the timetable and route remaining the same.”

Western Telegraph: There will be no changes in the 410 Fishguard-Goodwick Town Service.

The 410 route is currently driven by bus driver Jill, who is extremely popular with passengers due to both her ability to manoeuvre a large bus up some of the area’s trickiest hills and her friendly and amenable personality.

Fears that the much-loved driver would lose her job have also been put to rest. The council said that under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings -Protection of Employment) legislation drivers would keep their job even if the route is transferred from one operator to the other.

“Where a route is transferred from one operator to another, drivers are entitled to transport across under TUPE legislation with the same conditions of employment,” said the council spokesperson.

“Therefore, drivers would be able to continue to drive the routes they currently work on.”

The council said that there is a reduction of around £3 million in funding from Welsh Government for bus services in Wales for 2024/25.

However, there are no proposed changes to the 410 route or timetable. There is always a public consultation for any proposed route or timetable changes to a bus service.

The authority added that a widely publicised public consultation of bus service prioritisation, relating to all the county’s bus services, ran from December 8 2023 until January 7 this year.