Northumberland customers complain as bus driver shortages cause cancellations on Arriva North East routes

A number of journeys were cancelled yesterday by Arriva, who operate bus services across the North East, with driver shortages cited as the reason on the company’s Twitter account.

Travellers took to social media to complain about buses not arriving on time.

A spokesperson for Arriva said: “We are unfortunately experiencing some service issues in the region, which is linked to driver shortages.

“We are using social media to update customers to any service specific issues in real time.

“We do have a highly focused recruitment campaign underway across the North East and we are welcoming new drivers into Arriva regularly, who will undergo their driving training and soon be serving our customers and communities.”

The company issued a statement in November apologising for the negative effect the ongoing issues were having on customers.

But customers have been expressing frustrations at the company’s app not giving notice that services have been cancelled.

Twitter users described being “ghosted” by buses and a “lottery” whether some services arrived or not.

According to a recent report by the North East Joint Transport Committee, bus punctuality across the North East had fallen to 85.4% by mid-October, compared to a pre-pandemic baseline of 89%.

In response, the Tyne and Wear Public Transport Users Group said too many passengers “are being treated as second-class citizens, left standing at stops in freezing temperatures waiting for services that often fail to arrive”.

They called for bus companies to reverse cuts to services.

A government scheme capping single bus fares at £2 over winter will come into effect in January.