Arriva urged to rethink Telford school bus axe
Monday 15th November 2010, 8:00PM GMT.
A bus service which drops off and picks up children from outside a Telford school is being withdrawn because it is not “commercially viable”, it was revealed today.
Parents today called for the 786 service, which is due to stop running from November 26, to be saved.
Arriva said it was no longer commercially able to operate the service from Telford Town Centre to Ercall Wood Technology College in Wellington.
The bus currently runs once a day in each direction on school days.
Stuart Bristow, of Priorslee, said the change would mean his children, Sean, 12, and Rebecca, 11, would have a long wait or a walk of more than a mile to another bus stop.
He said: “Every day they and many other schoolchildren rely on the Arriva 786 service to get to and from school.
“This bus is always packed, especially on the return journey, so you can imagine my surprise when my children came home with a letter saying Arriva is withdrawing the service.
“The alternatives for my children and many others is either a one-hour wait for the 66 or a one-mile plus walk to the 44 bus stop by the AFC Telford ground, not the best walk with winter drawing in.”
Chay Davis, the college’s headteacher, said: “I am very disappointed that there was not a greater period of consultation and that we were only given two weeks’ notice of the service ending. This was also the only bus service that dropped off and picked up directly outside the school so pupils now have a five-minute walk to the nearest bus stop.
“I would reiterate that the service is independent of the school and as such we have had no influence over this decision.
“I am happy to forward any representations that parents make to me to the bus company concerned.”
Keith Myatt, Arriva spokesman, said: “It was a commercial decision made by the business. We are no longer in a position to operate that service.
“It does not meet our requirements to operate on a commercial basis and the local authority, Telford & Wrekin Council, have been aware of this.
“Anything over and above what we are able to provide commercially the council needs to consider whether they are able to operate a socially necessary sponsored service.”
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Just another case of ARRIVA putting profit before common sense.
Just like the Sardine express train service they supply for shropshire.
Enough said.
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Firstly – Thanks Shropshire star for running this story and getting a comment from Arriva.
Secondly – How can a 30 min bus journey running only twice per day PACKED with fair paying kids be “Commercially Unviable“ as it was a Commercial decision. Most if not all kids on that bus will be buying a £10 weekly ticket, 40 kids x £10 is £400 per week !!. – Saw a bus today with 2 people on it (one was the driver) – Guess that’s “Commercially Viable”.
I think Arriva hope that all the kids will walk about a mile, crossing several busy roads and catch the PACKED 44 from by the Bucks head. – This way they still get there money but don’t have to run the School bus.
SHAME on you Arriva – I hope you lose your contract for the midlands next review.
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To be honest, I’m sure Arriva know more than than we do about what constitutes a commercially viable service. I always see comments like “A bus passed me today with 2 people on it!”. Well, maybe 10 minutes before that, that bus had a full load – or maybe 10 minutes after that, it did.
The thing that annoys me with Arriva is their PR spokesman likes to use phrases like “working in partnership with Shropshire/Telford and Wrekin Council” when they take on services for which the local authority is SUBSIDISING. Its always a partnership when they’re taking the county shilling, but watch how quick the ‘partnerships’ dissolve when local authority cash runs out – as it’s about to – and subsidised services get axed all over the place. Will Arriva pick them up and try to operate them commercially?
The above story gives you a reasonable idea as to the answer there!
Incidentally, Arriva *don’t* have a “contract for the Midlands”. They operate bus services all over the Midlands and the majority (over 90% probably) are operated by them commercially and without subsidy from councils.
At the end of the day, its up to them what they can and can’t operate on that basis, whether we like it or not.
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Poor little loves, having to walk a mile, they’ll keep fitter that way than relying on a Wii ( other similar products are available from other manufacturers)
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I predict a tonne of “I used to walk 37 miles in 9 feet of snow and -40′ and windy conditions when I were a lad’ type of replies
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How can Arrive say it is not commercially viable. Children’s safety in this day and age is the up most priority. If this bus service has been used this far then surely it proves it is an asset to the community. They are putting children’s lives at risk.
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Parents are responsible for their childrens safety, not a bus company..
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Your correct tc, and we were at junior schoool and used to run home at lunchtime for some dinner and then back to school.
Perhaps the parents should club together and hire a taxi minibus or two, or offer to pay Arriva higher fares?
Children are their parents responsibility, not some bus companies, if Arriva are losing money then you can’t blame them pulling the plug, they are not a charity.
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Walk to the Bucks Head?
Good lord! Just walk down to the bus station. Much closer.
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Checked on the map. About the same distance thanks.
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But if you walk to the bus station it’ll be less packed. More likely to get a seat. Happy kids!
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I went to Ercall Wood and caught the bus from and too Wellington there is a path out of Golf Links lane straight down to Tan Bank.
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Many thanks !
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I went to Ercall Wood to, and used to get the 44 from Tan bank to Oakengates. You can cut out most of Holyhead road by walking pass the theatre about half way down, this brings you out above the Railway inn, right by a zebra crossing.
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Why are kids from Priorslee going to school in Wellington?
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1) There is NO secondary school in Priorslee. Nearest 3 miles way.
2) Not accepted for closest (Good) school that is outside of T&W area (Shifnal).
3) Ercall Wood is a “Technology School”. Local Secondary School (Wrockwardine Wood) is an Arts College and no interest to my kids.
4) Local secondary school still requires a bus journey
5) At the time bus links were simple and ideal
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Makes sense. Unlike the creation of “Arts Colleges” and “Technology Colleges”. What’s that all about?
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An “Arts College” doesn’t just do art.
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I know that, but the title suggests that it’s not going to be as strong in technical subjects as a technical college. When I went to school, it was called a “school” and taught a wide range of subjects to pupils who lived within its catchment area.
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Is it a special needs school?
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No. It is not.
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glad ercall wood had a bus, my lads go to abraham darby and a few times the drivers went passed without picking them up cause the bus is too packed, and they’ve been late for school so the school automatically give them 1/2 hr detention (no fault of their own), we need atleast another 22 on in the morning rush as this passes 2 larger schools before the abraham darby (phoenix & madeley academy) think on arriva
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I used to go to New College, and I caught the 701 from Brookside (operated by Arriva) until they pulled it, stating it wasn’t commercially viable. Complete load of rubbish if you ask me. Every day, that bus was standing room only (and often, it was over-full). I’ve seen the 786 operating, and it’s always packed as well. Yet some Arriva services I’ve been on have had next to no passengers on them, and they carry on running those.
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Lets be honest. Arriva isn’t commercially viable itself.
If their busses were on time, regular and decent then they’d have more customers.
Can’t wait to start driving, had enough of them being so unreliable!
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This is the tip of the iceberg.
There are lots of buses being messed with in the Telford area. The article mentions the 66 but that route is being axed in half come the end of the month and will no longer run right through.
Been reading about it on the T&W website just…a looooong list of changes. Still quite angry about some of them tbh.
The worst thing is how little people here have been told about what’s going to happen to our routes…the last time this happened, we lost a ton of decent service routes (old Midland Red) pretty much overnight.
These days if you don’t live in Leegomery or South Telford you pretty much don’t have a bus route ><
There's an Ercall Wood kid or two who catch the morning 66 that's going to be axed come the end of the month, come to think of it…wonder if they know about all this yet.
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