Bus operators have been urged to put an end to delays and cancellations leaving Newcastle passengers “stranded”.
Locals in the northerly villages of Hazlerigg, Brunswick and Dinnington have been left isolated and forced to miss medical appointments because of severe disruption to services, it is claimed. They have pleaded for action on a “crisis” on the 43, 44, and 45 Arriva buses that is preventing people in more isolated areas getting to work, school, and medical appointments.
It comes after the city’s MPs and council leader sat down with the North East’s three big bus companies last Friday to air concerns over unreliable services. More than 400 people have backed a petition from Hazlerigg Parish Council condemning the number of villagers “being left stranded due to disruptions and cancellations”.
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Calling for MPs and local councils to step in to help resolve the problem, Hazlerigg Parish Council chair Rachel Locke said: “The current crisis means residents in Newcastle North are left unable to get to work, school and university. Medical appointments are being missed and people are paying Arriva for day tickets then having to pay taxi fares to get home.
“School children are left waiting at bus stops in the dark, with no other means of getting home; this poses a huge safeguarding issue. Elderly and vulnerable residents are being isolated as a result of disproportionate cuts to bus services in Newcastle North. We need a regular and reliable bus service to serve people in the villages.”
Newcastle North MP Catherine McKinnell said buses were particularly important to communities on the outskirts of the city with no access to the Metro. The Labour MP added: “Too many people are facing a poor, unacceptable and unreliable service, leaving them unable to get to work, school or leisure, with little or no communication about cancelled or delayed services.
“I called for a meeting to be held alongside Newcastle’s other MPs and the Leader of the Council with senior management from bus operators to demand that the service and communication improve. The bus operators highlighted works that are ongoing to improve their service. I will continue to press on this until residents and our city get the service that we need and deserve.”
Arriva told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that problems caused by a national driver shortage had “escalated” in recent weeks and caused “serious challenges” in some parts of the North East, but that the operator was “exploring every avenue possible to rectify this situation”. A spokesperson said: “We’re mindful of how negatively we are affecting some of our customers and our communities every day, and for this we are genuinely sorry.
"As a priority action, work is underway to review our current timetables and service frequencies within parts of Tyne & Wear, with a view of potentially introducing small yet efficient changes in early 2023 which we believe will help to support positive service delivery in hot spots across the North East. These plans are currently being shared and discussed with local authority leads where appropriate, whom we are working in partnership with, to further show our commitment to righting the current challenges being experienced across our bus network.”
They added: “Arriva has a highly targeted recruitment campaign underway, which has already welcomed over 280 new drivers into the North East region this year. To further boost our ‘on the road’ capacity as quickly as possible, we’re utilising agency driver resource in the coming weeks, helping to bridge the gap whilst some of our newly recruited Arriva drivers undergo their training programme. We’ll continue to keep our customers and stakeholders updated on our plans and timelines of service delivery supporting changes being implemented.”
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