Better Transport

To relieve congestion on the M4 around Newport, the Welsh Assembly Government wants to build 24km of new motorway around the south of the city. If built the road would:

• Cost hundreds of millions of pounds
• Be Wales' first toll motorway
• Increase traffic levels and pollution in South Wales
• Devastate important wildlife sites including six Sites of Special Scientific Interest
• Shatter the tranquillity of the Levels
• Fuel dangerous climate change

We meet approximately every six weeks on Monday or Tuesday evenings at the Newport Civic Centre, Newport.

We are a loose coalition of ordinary folk who are opposed to Transport Wales' current plans to make the A494 Queensferry to Ewloe dual carriageway into a virtual 'motorway'.

The proposed road widening to, in effect, 11 lanes would result in lifting of the current 50mph speed constraint and a highway so massive that it would disrupt and pollute forever a lovely part of semi-rural Britain.

By employing a strategy of promoting 'improvement' to just a short section of existing highway at any one time, Transport Wales conceals the true extent of its aspirations. It is attempting to impose what is in all but name a motorway in the whole of the A494/A55 North Wales trunk road. 

There has been no public consultation about the 'big picture' objectives or realistic appraisal of future needs or transport alternatives. Despite concerns that the proposed work would bring heavy traffic close to several sensitive areas including schools and a hospital, officials have consistently refused to submit their proposals to a Health Impact Assessment. Data recently released by the Department for Transport suggests that the whole premise of likely future traffic growth upon which the scheme has been based is seriously flawed.

Aston Hill Says NO! fosters individual, private action; we then share all that we learn. We have encouraged dozens of people to send letters to the press and appear on radio and TV. We have made our own YouTube commentaries and held light-hearted public demonstrations.

Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth Rail Passenger Association (SARPA) is the local rail users' group for the Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth line running from the English border through Montgomeryshire to the coast of North Ceredigion and ending up in the increasingly important university (and Assembly administration) town of Aberystwyth.

We exist to preserve and promote the line so that there is a more sustainable transport for future generations.

SARPA is one of the more active rail user groups in Wales and meets monthly. We are continually campaigning on various issues from train times and frequency to station maintenance and welcome any comments anybody has about the rail service in Mid Wales.

The overall objective of Better Trains for Chepstow (BT4C) is to work with Train Operating Companies, the Welsh Assembly Government, Local Government, agencies of the Department for Transport and all other stakeholders to improve services, enhance facilities and improve the usage of the station to the benefit of commuters and other rail travellers as well as in the promotion of regional business, tourism and leisure.

We help get people on bikes by:

• Encouraging and assisting potential cyclists to take up cycling and use a bike as a means of transport
• Campaigning for better provision for cyclists in the Swansea Bay area
• Providing information about cycling related activities

The Pembrokeshire Rail Travellers' Association exists to promote and protect West Wales public transport. 

Formed in 2006, TBAG is a group of local residents that is opposed to the Welsh Assembly’s proposed route for the Llandeilo and Ffairfach, Carmarthenshire bypass.

The Heart of Wales Line Travellers' Association exists to promote the line, lobby for suitable services, and encourage people to use it so that it is available for the travellers of the future.   

The Heart of Wales line is 120 miles long and makes its way through some of the most unspoiled parts of Wales.