MPs warn school bus services in West Yorkshire at risk with Arriva short 80 drivers
The bus company, voted the worst performing operator in England in 2023, has insisted that no decisions have been made, however local MPs have told the Yorkshire Post that even some school services are potentially at risk.
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Hide AdIt is understood that Arriva is considering plans to reduce routes and timetables due to the shortfall in drivers due to retirements and people leaving the profession.
The Labour MP, who is also a minister in the Department for Transport, said: “These are devastating plans by Arriva in West Yorkshire which appear to lay bare the contempt they hold for my constituents.
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Hide Ad“Arriva in West Yorkshire has completely lost the public’s trust to operate any decent standard of bus service.
“For decades, unaccountable private operators have wreaked havoc on my constituents’ lives.
“By hampering social mobility and economic growth, incompetence on this scale from Arriva has meant nothing short of paralysis for our community.
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Hide Ad“Arriva have serious questions to answer regarding how they have reached this new low.
Earlier this year, it was announced that Arriva had come last out of 55 bus operators in England in a survey of passengers by watchdog Transport Focus.
Only 66 per cent of travellers were satisfied with their last journey.
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Hide AdJade Botterill, the new MP for Ossett and Denby Dale, has written to the bus company urging it not to cut services.
She toldthe Yorkshire Post: “Arriva has consistently failed to deliver even the most basic services, and has already been named as the worst bus operator in England.
“Many of the services are already sporadic and unreliable. Even before this decision, Arriva’s shameless running down of our bus services has left children late for school and elderly residents unable to reach health appointments.”
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Hide AdAn Arriva West Yorkshire spokesperson said the company was working with the combined authority to explore more options, saying: “We need to be clear that no decisions have been reached.”
They explained: “We continue to recruit and train more drivers, and we are committed to expanding our workforce further.
“Despite over 200 new drivers joining Arriva West Yorkshire this year alone, we are struggling to deliver all our timetabled services.
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Hide Ad“Passengers understandably tell us that the reliability of services is crucial, and it is essential that the timetables match the resource available to deliver them.”
However this will happen in phases, and the first routes are not set to be franchised across Leeds, Wakefield and Kirklees until 2027.
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Hide AdA combined authority spokesperson said: “We have belatedly been made aware of problems with this private operator affecting the reliability of services.
"We are taking buses back under public control so that we can bring an end to the postcode lottery of unreliable services across the region.
“In the meantime, Arriva are in contact with us and we will work with them to try to mitigate the impact of this on the travelling public.”
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