Wrexham's Bus Service still isn't back to normal after 5 months..
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It’s been five months since Djones and son stopped trading and only a handful of services have been recovered, and most route takeovers are by Arriva. People in isolated areas have had some service back but others, particularly residents in Gwynfryn, are still left without a local connecting having to trek down to Bwlchgwyn to get the x51 service, which is no longer frequent enough to accommodate this new surplus of passengers.
As I previously said, ex-D jones and son routes which already had connections via. Arriva buses are much too strained now but are the only buses they can get. Arriva is a monopoly here, there are only a small handful of other operators who run very short timetables, for instance the new Stagecoach C56 which provides cheaper fares to Chester but just doesn’t have the timetable or resources to compete with Arriva. Arriva being a monopoly heres has incredibly negative connotations for us commuters as they keep raising fares because, again, there is no competition. They have archaic buses for most routes because they have no competition and can do what they want because, once again, they have no competition.
Have you EVEN been on the Enviro City 400 buses on the Wrexham to Chester route#? They are a joy, with comfy seats, stop start technology and even USB charging slots. They are also very punctual and the Arriva app is fantatstic. No wonder they have a monopoly, they move with the times!
[quote quote=148190]Have you EVEN been on the Enviro City 400 buses on the Wrexham to Chester route#? They are a joy, with comfy seats, stop start technology and even USB charging slots. They are also very punctual and the Arriva app is fantatstic. No wonder they have a monopoly, they move with the times![/quote]
Totally agree.Hey C, just whom do you think is going to operate bus services let alone challenge ARRIVA’s monopoly? There are no other companies in the area who could or would try, so my suggestion is , if YOU need a bus service then use ARRIVA or lose it.
FirstGroup and StageCoach are both bigger companies than Arriva but they won’t expend resources in an already saturated market. Stagecoach’s amazing C56, it seems to be using an ancient Optare Solo, unrefurbished. Yet the Arriva service to Minera I saw earlier was a 15 plate bus with WiFi on-board.
No company will touch places like Gwynfryn because passenger numbers are so low it is literally a waste of money. Something like the 45F to Bettisfield would be useful, some sort of outlying areas bus ran in conjunction with Denbighshire/Flintshire.
Completely agree sausage muncher! Also they are good for the ENVIROment with the stop start technology,
Your telling me, I saw one run over a squirrel other day it just ran off! Which i was quite upset about as it would of made a beautiful squirrel and chorizo chipolata
Yes, I’ve been on the enviro 400 models, they’re great and a step in the right direction. However, the archaic gas guzzling Optare solos dominate other routes like the 21, 27, 28 33 and 32 and are used often on routes such as the very busy 12 they simply don’t have the capacity for customers at prime times especially.
Arriva is likely to stay a monopoly unfortunate but the lease they could do is invest in hybrid buses for the Wrexham area and alter and amend routes to make them suitable to employ double deck buses. There are also simple solutions for Arriva to reconnect disjointed communities. In Gwynfryn, the Minera Arriva 10 runs one bus at 6:25 AM to Wrexham, an extension of the existing Minera route by a measly mile and a bit would really help these communities in the daytime or at least at the prime times of 8 – 10AM and 4-5PM.
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