Reliable public transport is essential for rural communities like ours. It connects people with jobs, education, healthcare and the services they rely on every day. That is why I have been campaigning to restore the direct T4 bus connection between Mid Wales and Cardiff.

The changes to the T4 service, introduced last September by the Welsh Labour Government, mean passengers must now change buses in Merthyr Tydfil instead of travelling directly to the Welsh capital. While this may appear to be a minor alteration on a route map, it has made journeys longer, less convenient and less reliable for many residents across Brecknockshire and Radnorshire.

For older passengers, disabled people, those travelling with luggage or parents travelling with young children, an additional change can make public transport significantly more difficult to use and discourage people from making journeys that should be straightforward.

Recently I raised these concerns in Parliament, during a debate on transport links for small towns, highlighting the impact these changes have had on communities across my constituency. Cardiff is not simply another destination on the route. It is where many people travel for specialist NHS treatment, university and college education, employment opportunities and access to national institutions.

Good transport links are vital to ensuring rural Wales is not left behind. At a time when we should be encouraging more people to use public transport, changes that make journeys slower and more complicated risk doing the opposite.

I will continue pressing Transport for Wales and the Welsh Government to review the current arrangements and restore the direct T4 connection to Cardiff. People across Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe deserve a public transport network that connects our communities to opportunities across Wales, rather than placing unnecessary barriers in their way.