Major decision taken after crimes will leave one part of Merseyside 'cut off' and add to 'horror stories'
From today, people in one part of Merseyside are effectively cut-off from Liverpool after 6pm, as Arriva North West cancelled bus services due to ‘anti-social behaviour’. It is a further blow to people living in the area, after recent complaints about limited bus services and poor reliability.
In December, the LDRS reported on the bus services in Stockbridge Village, after Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgley shared a series of “horror stories” about public transport in the borough, which included included reports of mums waiting at bus stops for two hours and children who couldn’t get to school.
As a result, Ms Midgley helped to launch the Big Bus Survey, which is asking people for ideas on how to shape future transport services in their neighbourhoods.
More than 10,000 residents in Knowsley use the bus network every day, and figures show 36% of households have no car, and rely on buses for getting around the region.
Knowsley’s MP said: “Every day, people rely on buses to get to work, go to school, see their mates, go to the match, do the shopping, or get to their family who need care.
“I’ve heard plenty of horror stories from my constituents, from mums with young kids isolated from their families who can’t get a bus for two hours on a Sunday,
“Kirkby kids who can’t get to school, people from Stockbridge Village who’ve had the entire world stopped when the bus has been cancelled for days with no warning.”
To find out more, the LDRS took to the buses at the end of last year, and headed to Stockbridge Village to ask people what they thought about transport in their area. We spoke to Mary, June and their friend as they waited for a bus to take them home.
In reference to bus services in Stockbridge Village, Mary told us: “They’re not very good. When you’re in town or other places you see all these services and we’ve only got the three.
“In the winter is the worst because of the cold and you could be stood there waiting for over an hour. Then you have to spend money on taxis which is expensive.”
June Rowan, 80, agreed: “The bus stop where I am is constantly vandalised, and there’s no shelter to sit down or protect you from the rain or the wind.
“When they do put shelters up they just get wrecked, so I hope these new plans [from Big Bus Survey] can help with that and maybe get some wardens around here.”
However, two months after that conversation, it looks like the people in Stockbridge Village will now have even fewer buses to rely on, after Arriva North West confirmed its decision to cancel services after 6pm.
Arriva North West provided an update to its social media accounts, stating on X: “Due to anti-social behaviour in Leach Croft (Stockbridge Village), evening journeys on services 12 & 13 will be withdrawn from the area from 1800 each night, until further notice.
“Not serving stops on Waterpark Drive or Leach Croft.”