Loss of bus service causes chaos for Newport Pagnell

Arriva bosses have pledged to review their scrapping of a bus route after a town wheeled out hundreds of complaints.
Paul with an Arriva busPaul with an Arriva bus
Paul with an Arriva bus

The number 1 bus from Newport Pagnell to the city centre was axed during daytime hours last year because Arriva said it was not financially viable.

It was replaced with the number 2 bus – which takes more than twice as long for users to reach their destination.

This has caused chaos for shoppers and commuters as well as Ousedale pupils and college students, a packed public meeting heard.

“The students are punished because they are late for classes. And commuters say it take them as long to travel five miles from Newport Pagnell to CMK rail station by bus as it does to travel 50 miles to London by train,” said Lib Dem councillor Paul Alexander.

“It’s a crazy situation and the number 1 bus need to be reinstated,” he said.

Kieran Lawson, general manager for Arriva MK, said: “Changes to route 1 were made following a major review of all our services, during which it became apparent that consistently low passenger numbers on board this specific service made it commercially unviable for us to continue operating it as it was.”

He added: “We fully appreciate that there are ongoing concerns amongst bus users, and as such we are committed to working alongside the council to review the situation further in order to deliver a mutually agreeable resolution which will both meet social requirements within the Newport Pagnell area, whilst being financially sustainable.”

The bus service was axed on October 29 last year as part of a widespread change to Arriva routes and timetables all over Milton Keynes and surrounding areas

Arriva say running the number 1 bus was causing them to lose £130,000 a year, said Councillor Alexander. They could be looking for MK Council to subsidise this sum.

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