Stratford’s bus services ‘plagued by breakdowns and delays’

BREAKDOWNS, delays and driver shortages are driving bus users to distraction.

Many complain of being left stranded in the cold for hours, as buses are cancelled or just don’t show up. Frustrated passengers blame 20-year-old ‘geriatric’ buses, more likely to suffer mechanical faults, for causing late starts and hold-ups.

And to add insult to injury there are out-of-date timetables at bus stops all around the district, including Stratford’s Banbury Road, displaying hopelessly wrong timings. These are usually leftovers from more than two years ago, when services were run by Johnsons and Diamond bus companies.

Critics question whether Stagecoach Midlands has splashed out more on newer buses for Northampton and other areas, leaving Leamington and Stratford depots with much older hand-me-downs.

Another huge headache for bus companies, including Stagecoach, is a national shortage of drivers which can force them to delay or cancel services.

Most bus services in Stratford are hourly or less frequent, so when one is axed it has a large knock-on effect for passengers.

Frequent bus user John Morgan told the Herald: “As usual, Stratford gets the hand-me-downs from other parts of the Stagecoach network – we regularly have 18- to 19-year-old buses running here.

“When Stagecoach won a lot of contracts 18 months ago after Johnsons stopped, they cascaded buses from other parts of the Stagecoach network and the breakdowns are as big a problem as driver shortages, I would say.”

Last Tuesday Mr Morgan said he tried to catch the 10.38am from Wellesbourne, where he lives, to Stratford.

The retired local government worker said: “Even though the computer was telling me it was running to time, it was at least 15 minutes late and I gave up because it was too cold to hang around.

“There were two elderly people waiting for the same bus, and they had an optician’s appointment at 11.30am.”

When the bus finally arrived at 11.15am, it was 37 minutes late.

On Thursday last week, Mr Morgan said he travelled to Evesham but the 2.18pm bus he planned to take home was cancelled, so after having to hang around for an hour, it took him two-and-a-half hours to get from Evesham to Wellesbourne.

He also flagged-up that there are frequent problems with Stratford’s park and ride service, especially cancellations.

“I’ve made several attempts and when it’s freezing cold, 15-20 minutes feels like a long time,” he added. “You can’t go out with any confidence and know the bus will turn up, it won’t break down, or it’s going to get you there on time and won’t be stuck in traffic.”

In 2021, the government launched a £3bn national bus strategy ‘Bus back better’, which it said would make buses cheaper and easier to use. This promised London-style services all around the country, with buses so frequent passengers would be able to just ‘turn up and go’.

Mr Morgan added: “There are no new buses and there is no high frequency.

“If you have a gap in an hourly service like I had last week when I was trying to travel home from Evesham, you’ve got another hour to kill in the cold and it messes up connections when you get back to Stratford.”

Services are often disrupted by circumstances outside Stagecoach’s control such as flooding and road closures or snarl-ups due to road traffic incidents and emergency water or gas works.

One bright spot for beleaguered bus passengers is the government’s national price-slash scheme, which caps single fares at £2, is set to continue until 31st December, 2024.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach said: “Our services across Leamington, Warwick & Stratford are operated by a fleet of 87 buses, which typically vary in age from four to 20 years old with an average age of nine. Our buses are inspected every 28 days and maintained to industry leading standards. Across the country Stagecoach runs over 8,000 buses. We regularly have new buses joining that fleet but don’t currently have plans for new buses for our services in Stratford. However, there will be opportunity for our older fleet to be replaced over time.

“We are regularly delivering around 99 per cent of our scheduled mileage. Despite our best efforts, we can come across problems on the road network or have technical issues with our buses that can delay or cause us to cancel some trips.

“Over the last year we have overcome the immediate challenges of driver recruitment in the face of the industry wide driver shortage and now have over 160 drivers in our team.

“In response to the National Bus Strategy, we have formed an enhanced partnership with Warwickshire County Council and are working with them to progress their Bus Service Improvement Plan. Stagecoach is participating in the government’s £2 single fare Help for Households scheme that has delivered low fares and savings for customers in Stratford and across the county.”