To: Managing Directors, Arriva plc, Arriva Bus, Arriva Northwest, Admiral Way, Doxford International Business Park, Sunderland, SR3 3XP
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to object to your proposals to scrap the 418 bus service on the Wirral.
The withdrawal of bus service 418 will negatively impact residents attempting to get to work, to get to Arrowe Park Hospital and to reach local schools. It will reduce residents’ ability to shop locally, to access community & leisure facilities and it will increase social isolation. There is a low level of vehicle ownership in wards along the route and scrapping this service will have a huge impact on our residents who need it most.
Scrapping the 418 bus service will mean there is no bus serving Prenton Hall Road and the surrounding streets, creating a huge gap in the network coverage.. All the while, buses from west Wirral on their way to Birkenhead and Liverpool overserve Woodchurch Road, often more than one bus arriving at a time, whilst Prenton Dell residents are to be left with nothing.
Anyone living on the Old Chester Road or roads off it, trying to get to Arrowe Park Hospital will have to get a bus into Birkenhead and out again, doubling their journey time. The 418 is the only bus that connects residents at the lower end of New Ferry to Arrowe Park Hospital. Alternatives are significant walk away, especially for the elderly and those with impaired mobility.
You, Arriva, outline how you want your “buses to be more than just a mode of transport…something to help everyone make valuable connections” how you want to “help individuals connect with their communities”. Retaining the valued 418 bus service would do just that.
The Arriva Group states
- you are ‘rooted in our local communities…still a local company at heart in the markets where we operate’. Retaining the valued 418 bus service would demonstrate that you are in fact rooted in our local communities.
- “Contributing to a more sustainable future is at the heart of our vision to help shape a future
- where passenger transport is the best choice” Retaining the valued 418 bus service enables residents to choose to use the bus.
- “’doing the right thing’ is one of our core values”. Retaining the valued 418 bus service is an opportunity to ‘do the right thing’.
We are also frustrated at the lack of consultation. At no point were residents consulted and at no point have the views of Councillors been sought.
We hope that you will reconsider your proposal to scrap the 418 bus service on the Wirral and look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Councillors Jo Bird, Chris Cooke, Harry Gorman, Naomi Graham, Judith Grier, Ed Lamb, Craig McDonald, Ruth Molyneux, Kieran Murphy, Jason Walsh