There was positive news for bus users in Tenby this week as it emerged that a section of the town will now be covered by another existing service.

Recent correspondence from Pembrokeshire County Council’s passenger transport co-ordinator, Owen Roberts, revealed 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Dock to Tenby, currently operated by Edwards Coaches six-days-a-week, would cease in the New Year as the operators had withdrawn their contract.

Tenby Civic Society, who recently carried out a survey on the provision of public bus services in the Tenby area, suggested to the authority that the existing 361 service route be amended to include sections that the old Tenby Town Service covered - namely Lady Park, Upper Hill Park, and the circular route around The Glebe, with member Neil Westerman stating that the ‘town service’ bus was well patronised by the town’s senior citizens and ‘sorely missed’.

A response from Mr. Roberts came before members of Tenby Town Council at their meeting on Tuesday night.

“As you are aware, when the 361 timetable was merged with the 360 we did include Oakridge Acres, The Glebe and Tenby Cottage Hospital, however, the numbers travelling to and from these stops is very low, with only one or two a day.

“What we often find is that when a bus service is removed, we get a lot of people canvassing for the service to be reinstated, when in reality very few of them will actually use the bus.

“Despite this, due to the the changes to the 361, we are able to include Lady Park and Upper Hill Park in both directions. However, it will be closely monitored and, if it is not being well used, then this section of the route may be removed,” continued Mr. Price.

Commenting on the news, Clr. Trevor Hallett said that it was essential that people in Tenby now ‘use it, or lose it’ as the service would be monitored to gauge the amount of people utilising it.