North East buses leaving passengers stranded and missing appointments

Residents across the region including County Durham have been left "isolated" over a continuous stream of cancellations, a damning report has revealed. 

The Northern Echo understands that hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from delayed or cancelled services as the industry last night faced calls for reform.

It comes as shocking new data revealed more than one in five people across the North of England are at risk of being excluded from society due to public transport woes. 

Read more: Final Go North East buses leave as Chester-le-Street depot shuts down

Last night, Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy said she was inundated with "heartbreaking" emails from people across the county whose lives were being severely impacted.

Issues with bus services are rife throughout the region, from slashed services to changed timetables (Image: Stuart Boulton)

A study by Transport for the North, which advises the Government on the region’s transport needs, warned 21.3 percent of residents (3.3 million people) live in areas with poor access to jobs, education, healthcare and key services.

The report found the areas with a significant risk or transport-related exclusion are spread across the North, particularly in former manufacturing and mining communities, in coastal areas, and in smaller towns and cities. Several areas of the North East are among the worst in the country for connectivity.

In the study, one person from County Durham, who was among those impacted by poor bus services, said: “I was called out several times recently to rescue my 80-year-old mother from the bus stop when the service was cancelled without warning or offer of help.”

A decline in bus service provision has exacerbated the problem by reducing travel choices for the most vulnerable people, and was an issue repeatedly raised in the research.

Another person added: “When the bus doesn’t turn up, I’ve no idea what’s happening – sometimes there’s someone with a phone who looks it up for me but usually I just stand there hoping.

"We need information at the bus stop, not just timetables which often don’t match the service but those electronic times which say ‘next bus’.”

People’s finances continue to be stretched during the cost-of-living crisis and rising transport costs are often too much for commuters.

Meanwhile, schoolchildren in rural areas of the region often rely on multiple modes of transport to get to the school gates every day but some are now finding it difficult to turn up on time.

One ex-school pupil said: “[I] have not been on a bus since my school pass ended - no part of transport public or car is affordable”, while another affected pupil added: “It takes two or three buses to get to school and it takes ages. It also means that I can’t stay on for after school activities and also reduced my choice for A levels.”

Important hospital appointments are often scheduled months in advance but many patients are finding their operations and check-ups postponed for several months due to unreliable transport.

A County Durham interviewee said: “To get to the hospital I have to get a bus and then a train.

"The bus is unreliable which means I miss the train and a couple of times my appointment too - a wasted journey.”

And another person said they leave up to three hours before their scheduled appointment just to make it on time.

Bus services in Darlington have been the subject of complaints from residents

One of the bus operators which runs in the region, Arriva, has acknowledged the issues of its services faced by hundreds in Darlington and the Tees Valley but said its services will improve.

A spokeswoman said: “We continue to recruit new drivers into our operation and we’re still working closely with Darlington Borough Council and Tees Valley Combined Authority, to identify priorities which will increase service level as soon as is possible.”

The new research has led to calls for change from Labour MPs in the region.

Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy says cuts to local transport budgets have eroded key services for local communities. 

“This report confirms what those who regularly use our region’s fragmented, unreliable and expensive public transport system already know," she said. 

"Every week I receive heart-breaking emails from people from villages across Durham who have missed shifts, appointments or been late for school due to our broken public transport.

"But this isn’t an accident. Under the Tories, Durham’s local transport budget has been cut by 25 percent over the past 12 years and private bus companies have been permitted to cut vital bus services and hike fares as and when they choose.

"Our transport system needs to work for the public and be accountable to the public - not shareholders.

"That’s why Labour would devolve power to local areas, to set bus routes and fares- while once again allowing Local Authorities to set up publicly run bus companies.

"Vitally, Labour would ensure everyone in our communities can access the education, the jobs and the healthcare when they need it, at a price they can afford.”

Lord Patrick Mcloughlin, the former transport secretary who chairs Transport for the North, said transport-related social exclusion “impacts people’s lives on a daily basis”.

He said people in the North are at risk of exclusion because of the limitations of transport options in their community and that it is “holding the region back”.

While taxis are available in many communities throughout the region people have told of blowing their hard-earned wages just to travel to work.

A Confederation of Passenger Transport spokesperson said: “Buses play a vital role in keeping local communities connected with friends, family, education and work opportunities as well as essential services.

"Nobody wants to see bus services reduced, which is why operators have been working closely with local authorities, to ensure that bus services in the future match people's current and future travel demands.

"Bus passenger levels overall are around 10-15% lower than they were pre-pandemic as people’s travel habits continue to evolve. It is imperative we concentrate resources where passengers want to travel, which in turn ensures reliable services that serve the largest possible number of people.

"Operators will be continuing to work with their local authorities to deliver sustainable and desirable bus services. Local authorities ultimately need to implement bus priority measures to put buses first on our road network, which will improve journey times and reliability, and will therefore encourage more people to travel by bus.”

A Government spokesperson added: “We’re investing billions in projects that will improve local transport, renew and reshape town centres and high streets, and drive growth in areas which need it the most.

“We have allocated £5 million specifically for pilot projects to understand how transport may be used to alleviate loneliness and keep people connected."

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