Bus services in Darlington: 'Arriva is failing' says council chief

Darlington Borough Council leader Cllr Jonathan Dulston said: "The bus service is something that I continuously on an almost daily, sometimes hourly basis, get questions from members of the public with regard to the reliability of the service.

"I've been very clear that Arriva is failing in a big way and it's failing a lot of residents," he told a cabinet meeting.

"And my job as leader of the council is to represent your views so I'm continuing to push down hard... as are the officers alongside Ben Houchen and Peter Gibson the MP.

Cllr Jonathan Dulston. Picture: Sarah Caldecott.

"Let me be very clear - your concerns are my concerns. It's absolutely appalling. I'm hearing people stood waiting for a bus for up to an hour and 10 minutes when they've gone out in good faith.

"My ask is, please get in touch with your local councillor, get in touch with me directly via email if you want to write to me or on Facebook.

"We need to give these individual circumstances to the bus providers because they can investigate exactly what's gone on.

Read more: North East buses leaving passengers stranded and missing appointments

"Ultimately it's what you feel when you're stood after an eight-hour shift in the town centre and an hour-and-a-half waiting for a bus that really matters. For me that isn't acceptable.

"So please be assured, this is number one on the agenda alongside other things that we're taking seriously as a council."

Cllr Lorraine Tostevin expressed her "dismay that the rural areas which I represent had their bus services depleted year after year".

She said: "Many areas did not have a bus services for ages.

"Areas like Neasham can now see the Arriva bus pass the end of their village but it doesn't stop because there's no suitable bus stop. In Hurworth the bus only runs in one direction.

Cllr Lorraine Tostevin. Picture: Darlington Borough Council.

"None of this is acceptable. My plea is please, please consider the rural villages because they deserve a decent bus service too."

Cllr Stephen Harker said: "It's a dire situation.

"Unless something's done about it, and it will need to be funded through Government, we are going to see more and more services lost, particularly if the bus service doesn't get its act together in terms of drivers.

Cllr Stephen Harker. Picture: Sarah Caldecott.

"We will see more and more feeling that they can't use the bus service because it's unreliable and resorting to other means of transport."

Cllr Andy Keir, cabinet member for local services, said: "I think the essence of all of this is the support from Government needs to be much more."

He said there had been a deterioration because of a lack of drivers, but new drivers were going through training.

He added: "We're working hard. We're pushing through the Tees Valley (Combined Authority) as well, pushing the bus companies very hard to get the service up to the standard it should be, then hopefully we can grow the business and get it back to where it was.

Cllr Andy Keir. Picture: Northern Echo.

"We're pushing them very hard to get on with recruitment and get people in there and get bus drivers trained up.

"Certainly it's getting people back in the buses that's a key thing.

"We know people are feeling it. Everybody's feeling it."

Cllr Matthew Snedker said it was "incredibly positive" to see national Government funding the Bus Recovery Grant, which supports bus operators in England with the impacts of Covid-19.

He said buses had generally become far more expensive with a 60% fare increase since 2010, with the bus service grant "steadily eroded by central Government".

Cllr Matthew Snedker. Picture: Gareth Lightfoot.

"I think there's a fundamental problem with the underfunding of the bus network across the country," he added.

"We should all be asking for the bus industry to be funded properly."

An Arriva spokesperson said: "We are acutely aware of the concerns being raised regarding Arriva bus services in the region.

"We are in regular discussions with Darlington Borough Council and the Tees Valley Combined Authority to agree improvement plans.

"Services have faced significant challenges in recent months, through a combination of multiple roadwork disruption and driver shortage.

"However, there are clear improvements are being seen in service reliability.

"We accept that some services are still not operating to the standard our customers rightly expect and we will continue to work in partnership to deliver improvements."

Councillors agreed £56,526 funding to extend the Number 16 bus service for two years.

Cllrs Snedker and Alan Marshall welcomed the continuation of the much-loved and valued "pink bus", calling it "almost like a community centre on wheels".

Read next:

• Arriva bus services in Darlington criticised amid a 'broken system'
• Arriva pledges to improve Darlington bus services after being slated
• Durham council approves Crook barn conversion after 'genuine mistake'

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