Passengers will see cuts to weekend and evening bus services for the foreseeable future.
The cuts will affect services primarily in St Helens and are as a result of the pandemic and driver shortages.
St Helens Counci l called for a solution to the disruptions, that will begin January 24.
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The routes involve buses from St Helens to Liverpool and Leigh, the full list of services affected is: 10, 17, 20, 30, 32, 32A, 33, 34, 34A, 35, 37, 38A, 89 and 156.
A spokesperson for St Helens Council said: "St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport has moved to assure residents who rely on public transport that the council is seeking action to address reduced bus services in the St Helens area.
"Due to driver shortages, changes have recently been made to a number of evening and weekend services, including the 10, 17, 20, 30, 32, 32A, 33, 34, 34A, 35, 37, 38A, 89 and 156.
"Although the council has no control of the running of buses, the local authority is calling for a solution to the current challenges faced nationally around service tender, driver recruitment and retention issues in the bus market - caused as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and recent shortage of HGV drivers."
In a statement, Councillor Andy Bowden, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said:
“These changes - which are out of the council’s control - will have a significant impact on bus users in the borough. However, council officers and my colleagues on the Liverpool City Region transport committee are seeking assurances that action is being taken to address these service cuts.
“Our priority is to see these services restored and we will be working with colleagues at the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and bus operators to find solutions as soon as possible.”
Many of the bus routes affected are ran by operator Arriva, a spokesperson for Arriva said: "“From Monday 24 th January we are making some temporary service reductions to ensure the stability of the Arriva bus network in Merseyside. Like many businesses we currently have increased employee absence and it is vital that we continue to prioritise our resource on providing capacity matched to customer demand.”
Arriva routes will be revised as follows:
- Service 10 - Saturday revised to run every 30 minutes.
- Service 20 - Saturday revised to run every 40 minutes.
- Service 32/32A - Saturday revised to run every 30 minutes.
- Service 34 - Monday to Saturday revised to run every 20 minutes.
- Service 35 - Monday to Saturday revised to run every 30 minutes.
- Service 89 - Monday to Saturday revised to run every 30 minutes with some duplicate journeys at peak times.
- Service 320 -Saturday revised to run every 20 minutes.
