Cuts to County Durham Arriva bus services will impact livelihoods

The bus operator has proposed several timetable changes affecting key services in the county from Sunday (April 2), which will see some services withdrawn or reduced. 

Residents say the changes will cause major disruption and make it tougher and more expensive for people to travel, with many already struggling because of poor services isolating their communities. 

The Durham to Hartlepool services operated by Arriva, on behalf of Durham County Council, will be withdrawn. Meanwhile, early morning services between Easington and Hartlepool will be withdrawn due to low demand. 

Trimdon and Thornley ward councillors Jake Miller, Lucy Hovvels MBE and Chris Varty say changes to the 57/57A services will isolate residents and have called on Durham County Council to urge Arriva to rethink the planned changes. 

Cllr Miller said: “These changes could have a devastating impact on residents. Some already face losing jobs because buses don’t turn up on time, making them late for work, and students are struggling getting to and from college before any cuts are made.

“What will be the impact when three services become one? When a service is scrapped entirely? And when residents are forced to pay for a bus to get them from one village to another, just to catch the new Arriva service? A single bus trip becomes a round trip of four buses – four payments per day! It is not acceptable.”

The members warn the cuts, which affect both Trimdon and Thornley, are the “tip of the iceberg” and could lead to further routes being scrapped. People in towns and villages across the Sedgefield Constituency – such as Newton Aycliffe, Ferryhill, West Cornforth and Chilton – worry they may soon suffer the same fate.

Cllr Hovvels MBE added: “Our communities deserve better. They deserve more regular, reliable buses, not less. Arriva’s changes risk isolating people and forcing them to pay more for a worse service, when they’re already struggling in a cost of living crisis.

“Residents will face disruption and possible increased waiting times. Small villages are being once again hit with a reduction to services. Enough is enough – we need Arriva back at the negotiating table and reconsidering these changes.”

Arriva said a lack of available drivers meant some contracts could not be continued, blaming the current difficult public transport climate. 

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A spokeswoman for Arriva said: “Service 57/57A are not wholly commercial services for Arriva, we receiving a level of financial support for the routes and this permits route extensions to the service (from Kelloe to Hartlepool).

“This current funding support ends on 1 April 2023 and due to our declining driver availability in the area, we gave advanced notice to Durham County Council of our intention to no longer extend the contract - instead committing our efforts into stabilisation of our core network through a reduction in some services.

“This advance notice was also designed to give Durham County Council the opportunity to find a replacement operator for these services. Due to the current public transport climate however, Durham County Council have been unable to find an operator to replace service operation, in full.

“As a result, and to avoid a complete withdrawal of service, Arriva has worked closely with Durham County Council to ensure that the majority of Service 57 will be replaced (by our new service 58). Durham County Council are arranging a replacement for Service 57A. We understand that this arrangement is not permanent and will be reviewed once driver resource stabilises and operator availability improves across the region.”

Cathy Knight, Durham County Council’s integrated passenger transport manager, said: “Regionwide driver shortages continue to have a substantial impact on commercial bus services. Due to these ongoing challenges, we have been working with operators to help sustain these services and ensure that residents have access to the best coverage possible.

“Revised timetables will continue to provide for key arrival times in Durham and Hartlepool, such as for college and employment opportunities, with the new 59 service set to be operated by Gateshead Central Buses under an emergency subsidy contract. We hope to review all of these services once industry shortages are resolved."