Residents and councillors call on Arriva to improve ‘pot luck’ village bus service

Residents and councillors said people living in Crofton have been “cut off” due to constant service cancellations.

They have called on Arriva to commit to improving the 195 and 196 Wakefield-Hemworth routes which serve the village.

Usman Ali, who represents Crofton, Ryhill and Walton ward on Wakefield Council, said the lack of reliability was particularly impacting elderly people needing to attend medical appointments.

Coun Ali said he had written to Arriva chief executive Mike Cooper calling for urgent action.

He said: “The 195 and 196 are a lifeline for this community and people living in other rural villages nearby, including Walton, Havercroft, Wintersett, Notton and Chevet.

“People need to get to work, to health appointments, to their studies and see family.

“But many people who rely on public transport simply can’t because the services are so poor.

“We desperately need a way of improving these services.

“We are lucky to have a good doctor’s surgery in Crofton but often people have to travel to other medical centres outside the village and simply can’t get there.

Coun Ali added: “The problem seems to be even worse in the evening. There are lots of cancellations after 5pm and many people are cut off.”

Crofton resident Charles Elliot said: “It has been a problem for years and years now.

“We cannot rely on the buses.

“When you have to go somewhere important you always have to go for the earlier bus in the hope that that one of the two turns up.

“If I need to catch a train in Wakefield I have to go by car just to be sure I make it on time

Another resident, Chris Hollins, said: “In theory there should be four buses an hour going through Crofton.

“In reality it’s just pot luck what will turn up.

“We have never done a scientific survey but the cancellations are time and time again.”

Councillor Faith Heptinstall said: “People have to set off for work a couple of hours early just to get there on time and are not getting back home until really late at night.”

Last November, Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood accused Arriva of turning rural villages into “transport deserts” over its “shockingly poor” bus services.

Mr Lightwood said he has been inundated with e-mails from residents of Middlestown, Netherton and Overton about cancelled and delayed services.

At the time, Mr Lightwood, now MP for Wakefield and Rothwell, represented people in the those communities before constituency boundary changes.

The Labour MP wrote to the bus operator requesting an urgent meeting to call for service improvements.

He said: “Thousands of bus routes have been axed nationally over the past decade, leaving many communities without the buses that connect communities to work, school and hospital appointments.”

Arriva has been contacted for comment.