Today in Parliament, Lucy met Simon Mathieson (Area Director, Midlands) and Andrew Godley (Commercial Director, Midlands) of Arriva Buses, in light of constituent complaints about local bus services.
The key bottleneck in services stems from the number of available drivers, which has dropped off significantly in the previous months. It takes 10 times longer to train a bus driver than to serve a contractual notice period and this has meant that Arriva experienced a significant reduction in driver numbers without enough time to train replacements. In turn, this has meant that fewer services can be run, and that those remaining are often overcrowded.
Key points at the meeting included:
- Arriva have committed to working closely with Lucy, Telford & Wrekin Council and local schools to ensure that services around school hours are fully operational and that children and their families can rely on them to get to school.
- Issues with the Arriva app have been recognised and a new system is now in place that is far more efficient and responsive, ensuring that residents are not left waiting at bus stops for services that have been cancelled.
- There are now enough drivers in training to meet the shortfall by the end of January.
- Arriva will focus on better communication with the public to communicate the issues they have faced
- Bus drivers are legally required to ask that room be made for wheelchair users who want to board the bus.
Lucy will also work with Ministers at the Department for Transport to seek for more funding for bus services in Telford – particularly with regard to supporting concessionary passengers including pensioners and people with disabilities.
Lucy Allan MP said:
I welcome Arriva’s forthright recognition of the issues currently facing passengers in Telford. Often, in meetings with other transport providers, I have been told that the issues raised are not as serious as reported to me.
I was therefore pleased that Arriva were very clear that they know that recent bus services have not been acceptable and have let down many of my constituents. I shared the experiences of my constituents directly with Arriva, and these cases will help to deliver better services in future. Getting in touch with your MP really can make the difference.
Arriva shared with me a detailed plan they already have in place to rectify issues with punctuality, cancellations and overcrowding. The Executives have confirmed that significant improvements in service will be in place by the end of January 2023.
I will be holding Arriva to account for the promises made today, but am grateful that progress is being made towards the services Telford needs.
There are many benefits to training to work as a local bus driver:
- Sociable work, meeting new people from the community every day.
- Huge element of freedom once you are on the road whilst serving local residents.
- Varied work, with flexibility in hours and working patterns.
- Great team at the Telford depot with passionate leadership and staff.
If you would like to train to be a local bus driver Lucy encourages you to explore your options here.
