Shrewsbury councillor complains to Arriva over hospital bus cancellations

Over just the last week, nearly twenty residents have been in touch with Alex Wagner to complain of the supposedly half-hourly service not running for hours at a time.

Councillor Wagner wrote to Arriva back in August to complain of reduced reliability in the service and the removal of the stop at the Treatment Centre. He has now followed up demanding a meeting with senior officials to set-out a plan to fix the service.

Alex said: “Going to a Hospital appointment can be stressful enough as it is without the added worry of having to rely on public transport. The #11 service is a vital link for hundreds accessing NHS care every month, yet seems to have fallen to such a poor service level that it can’t be relied on.

“For one 82 year-old resident who rang me up, the #11 not running for two hours last week meant she was unable to get to an important hip operation check-up at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. There was no warning of this or recourse, just a long wait at a cold bus shelter.

“People in this town should be able to get to work, get to NHS appointments, and get home without the stress and strain of a service not turning up.

“I want to meet with senior staff at Arriva and to work with them on fixing this. We cannot keep having patients and residents unable to get home or get to Hospital appointments. Frankly, as it stands, the service is a shambles and is letting people down.”

Letter

Dear Arriva,

In the past week, nearly twenty Shrewsbury residents have gotten in touch with me to complain about your running of the #11 Royal Shrewsbury Hospital bus service - or, rather, lack of running.

Despite this bus being the key arterial link between Shrewsbury Town Centre, Frankwell, Copthorne, Bowbrook, Bicton Heath and most importantly the Hospital, buses simply not running seem to be a constant issue. Earlier today (10/12/22) the service was not running from the bus station for over an hour; it was not running for over two hours at one point earlier in the week.

I realise you are having issues with bus driver shortages and are faced with tough questions over costs as we all are. But this is not your normal route. This is the only route for passengers on foot to get to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. This is for some, the only way to access NHS care and appointments. For more, it is a vital route to get to work and get from the far reaches of town to the centre.

One woman who missed the service last week when it was not running for two hours rang me up. She is 82 years-old and needed to attend a check-up on a recent hip operation. She missed her appointment and can't get one for weeks now. Even if she can, if services remain as they are, who is to say with certainty she can make it.

I would like to request a meeting with a senior representative to discuss how we are going to ensure people don't miss Hospital appointments and that this vital service runs.

Kind regards,

Councillor Alex Wagner