Residents' plea to save Darlington 3A bus in Arriva cuts plan

Arriva’s 3A service is used by dozens of residents a day due to its direct links to North Road Morrisons, NHS clinics, the town centre and railway station. However, the operator has announced plans to withdraw it in full from July 9 due to a drop in funding for concessionary schemes. 

Although buses on the route only run at an hourly rate, stopping after 6pm Monday-Saturday, with no services on Sundays or bank holidays, they have been described as a lifeline for many in the areas it serves, particularly for the elderly population. Residents have already seen services severely reduced and say withdrawing it altogether would be the final nail in the coffin. 

Sheila and Colin Reid, of Longfield Road, are fortunate that the bus pulls up directly outside their front gate but the bus stop is set to become useless within a month. To them, the 3A is vital to help them get around after two recent strokes and a fall limited Sheila's mobility. Regular checkups at nearby NHS clinics are also key to Colin, who uses the bus to get there. 

Read more: Full list of Arriva County Durham and Darlington bus services threatened with cuts

The current 3A timetable for the Arriva service from Longfield Road, Darlington (Image: Sarah Caldecott)

“There’s a lot of older people on the bus who use it for their heavy shopping - how else are they supposed to get there?,” he said. 

Such is the frequency that the couple use the 3A they see the same faces every day and worry for their fellow passengers. Residents argue that such a built up area with thousands of residents should be prioritised for protection, not withdrawal. 

And Although the 3A may not provide a direct route for some passengers, it is used as a key link service so they can connect to other routes. 

Colin added: “Of all the bus routes in town, why select the 3A?  Is it because we’re all pensioners? It should be more of a priority if you have pensioners using it. They might say the bus isn’t used but it’s hardly here as it is. We only get a bus every hour and if it doesn’t turn up you have to wait two hours. 

“It feels like we’re going back to lockdown, we’ll all be stuck in the house. Keep the bus, we don’t understand why they won’t listen to passengers.”

Next door but one, Ann and Geoff Barker are also heavily reliant on the 3A for health reasons. “The buses mean everything to us,’ added Ann.  

Read more: Several County Durham bus routes SAVED - but other key routes still at risk

Arriva said the decision had been taken following “exhaustive efforts”, after failing to reach a funding agreement with the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA). It blamed the authority for a 28 per cent cut in funding for the English National Concessionary Fares Scheme (ENCTS) - a programme which provides revenue reimbursement for carriage of free bus travel for eligible people to ensure operators aren’t financially worse off.

A spokesman added: “The reimbursement rates proposed will not continue to cover the costs of running a significant number of our services and has regrettably led to this decision.

“We know how important our bus network is to our customers and we would like to apologise for any disruption these alterations will cause.”

But Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen refuted the claims and blamed Arriva for the cuts. He said: “We supported Arriva through Covid, we continued to subsidise their services. It’s very sad to see Arriva haven’t repaid that partnership working, it's just all take take. A proposal was put forward to all the bus operators and they’ve all accepted except Arriva. I believe they are trying to hold the combined authority and all five local authorities to ransom because they want more money.”

Read more: Hurworth appeal to keep Arriva 12 bus service after cuts threat​