Arriva to Implement More Bus Service Cuts Affecting Wakefield

Arriva has disclosed additional reductions to its bus services across West Yorkshire, attributing these changes to an ongoing driver shortage. The transport provider specified that locations such as Wakefield, Leeds, Pontefract, and Ossett are among those that will experience impacts from these adjustments, scheduled to commence on January 5 of the upcoming year, with additional reductions to evening services also part of the plan. Earlier in the current month, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin commented that passengers in Wakefield have endured a “terrible service.” Arriva stated its commitment to developing a “robust” plan to “deliver a reliable timetable.” The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported that, starting in the new year, the 122 bus route will operate exclusively between Wakefield and Ossett, no longer extending to Gawthorpe. Services 135/136, connecting Pontefract and Chequerfield, will see their frequency decreased from every 15 minutes to every 30 minutes. In an official statement, Arriva declared: “Despite recruiting more than 300 new drivers since the start of the year, these measures are essential to improve services for customers given the ongoing shortage of drivers.” The company further explained: “Following a comprehensive review of the usage of every journey on the network, some of the least used journeys will no longer run, and some have been amended.” The operator additionally indicated its intention to eliminate evening journeys that were introduced to certain timetables in February and July, citing a “low number of passengers” as the reason. Consequently, evening service frequencies are expected to return to their prior levels, according to LDRS. Additional minor alterations include services 444/446 departing from Leeds City Bus Station, rather than City Square. The 164 bus, which provides a link between Leeds and Selby, will operate hourly instead of bi-hourly. Kim Cain, Arriva Yorkshire’s area director, commented: “We know how important our bus services are to the communities in Yorkshire we serve and we are sorry that they have not been performing at the levels that passengers rightly expect.” Cain added: “We are determined to change this and have been working closely with local transport authority partners to develop a robust plan with service changes so that we are able to deliver a reliable timetable that our passengers can have confidence in.”