A woman has said that she sometimes has to fall back on travelling to work by taxi after the bus service she normally relies on became more infrequent.

Ann-Marie Hardie, who lives in Colburn, claims that she has to sometimes rely on taxi journeys to make sure she can still get to work at William Hill in Richmond because the buses often don't fit in with her schedule.

Despite only working two days a week at the betting shop, she says the number of times she has had to get a taxi has increased, due to a reduced service.

The Colburn residents' problems began in 2022 after the bus service, the X26, between Colburn and Richmond, was reduced from two buses per hour to one per hour. 

Since then, the usual bus service that takes Ann-Marie to work has occasionally become unreliable, including two separate buses having 'mechanical difficulties'.

Ann-Marie HardieAnn-Marie Hardie (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

As a result, Ann-Marie, who gets the bus from the Blue Nile Road bus stop in Colburn, has "no choice" but to shell out for a taxi each time.

She said: "I'm sick of getting left at the bus stop. I'm not the only one who has issues with the buses - we're all at the end of our tether.

"A few months ago, two buses turned up at the bus stop - and both broke down at the bus stop and left me stranded. 

"I'm just trying to get to work every time - it shouldn't be this difficult."

After paying for taxis, Ann-Marie has complained to Arriva.

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However, after not receiving what she felt was a satisfactory response from Arriva or the councillors, she is now "out of options". 

She added: "After having to put up with the issue for so long - it's ridiculous that the bus schedule isn't fit for purpose. 

In response, Arriva has said that there doesn't appear to have been any issues on the X26 bus over the last month - apart from two mechanical issues.

The bus operator has also said that they are happy to speak to Mrs Hardie in the future if the issue persists. 

A spokesperson for Arriva North East said: “The X26 is a busy and important service for the community and we prioritise that service if we do have issues.

“Having looked at the data from the bus journeys, it would seem that the service ran to time on June 5.

“Aside from a couple of mechanical issues, this service generally runs as it should.

“We are always open to customer feedback and if this customer wants to share specifics with us, we’d be more than happy to have a chat with her.”