written by MadilynnCochran on 30/01/2024
The bus is always overcrowded and the people always go home late. Especially afterschool, I don’t understand why double decker buses are never sent at afterschool times so that most students are able to fit into one bus without it being hard to breathe and too hot. It’s also crazy how there’s usually an early bus that happens to be a double decker but no one is out of school yet to go on it. I think that buses should take notice of this and send double deckers or double buses to that the students who don’t take a school bus may be able to go home at an appropriate time in an appropriate bus where the elderly may be able to sit.
written by Cannon88 on 07/01/2024
Left in cold water average average of 10-20 minutes at Alnwick only with £2 atm very poor.
written by Jason247 on 19/04/2018
I Do not use the bus very much and my experience today was awful. On getting on the 245 - I stated where I wanted to go and the driver said 4 pound considering it was three bus stops down the main road I said that was disgraceful she continued to talk loudly saying 4 pound and pointed at the ticket again loudly saying 4 pound. The ticket said 2.00 pound I am not hard of hearing and 2.00 does not sound like 4 pound. I said to her that she said 4.00 and I took a seat. Yo make matters worse I then went to get of the bus I did not ring the bell as I was visible I made a point of looking at her and she definitely saw me. She did not stop and my bus stop but continued on. I said are you not going to stop. I had no apology - this was done on purpose. And I did say thank you when I finally got of the bus. Years ago the bus drivers where polite and friendly today this was not the case. Not at all happy with your driver you need to improve your service to the public! Bus route 245 from altrincham to sale Thursday 19th April am
written by Monroe439 on 20/08/2016
I only use Arriva when in the emergency situation of not being able to use the better bus companies, XprEE or Midland Classic. Although I find some peoples reviews harsh espicially when buses are only £1.20/£1.30 per journey for me without fail regardless of how far i'm going as long as its in Staffordshire, the cons of Arriva definetely outweigh the pros. Once i was on the last Tamworth - Lichfield route 785 i think it was and the bus driver got in to an arguement with a customer which made the bus leave about 20 minutes late, i was just lucky i wasnt in a rush to get home, the bus driver drove dangerously fast and obviously didn't care & of course i didn't get a response to my thankyou when I got off the bus. To sum up cons of Arriva- Rude drivers ones with good English are sarcastic and ones with poor English just grunt as it seems & I haven't come across 1 friendly Arriva driver ever Buses are about 40% reliable when it comes to turning up and leaving on time Sunday services are pathetic- should put more on or don't bother running the buses at all on a sunday Timetables have been published incorrectly which have caused me issues in the past They stop for several minutes at random stops that nobody uses constantly! Must be why they're late when it is their fault- there was an occaison where one driver stopped to speak to a colleague that was passing on an another Arriva bus! Pros- Cost effective Heatings nice in the cold weather Buses seem cleaner than they used to be Useage of double deckers at peak times
written by Sandy05 on 23/06/2016
Normally I have no problem but today I did with one bus driver on the number 7 it is a disgrace. I am a student and I had to be in college early to care for animals so I decided to get McDonald's for breakfast after. On my way back from town with my breakfast I had a hash brown I had almost finished it as the bus came. The driver was very rude about the fact that I had this hash brown and should of put it away to be on the bus. This is the only time I have had a problem with a driver normally they allow you if you have a little bit left to eat it.
written by on 06/04/2016
Today Id just came from the cinema in broughton and managed to get to the bus stop as the bus came. I quickly dove in my bag to retrieve my ticket but couldn't see it so I got on to prevent having to wait for another bus and let him know I'm just looking. Other busses i have been on have continued to drive if anyone needed to get something ready, but this bus driver waited still. Under 30 seconds or so it took me to find my ticket And hand it in but he took it straight out my hand and inspected it as if a fake. Just after he said to me " do me a favour and next time get your ticket ready while you wait" I know this may not bother others but it was the way he said it which made me feel the way I do. I am just 16 years old so get the bus to many places as I can't drive and never have I come across a driver so rude. Townlynx is definitely a nicer company
written by Newman213 on 07/12/2015
The 29 route drivers really need some customer service training. Drivers have appalling attitudes. Rude, arrogant, superior and totally unprofessional. They regularly miss out stops if there too many buses in front. They bark orders at passengers as if they are cattle. One even shouted at an elderly lady for being too slow because he wanted to get away from the stop! They behave as if their customers are a nuisance. Please, if you don't like stopping at bus stops, picking up passengers of all creeds and abilities, dealing with passengers' needs then get another job!
written by on 04/03/2015
The driver on my arrive bus nearly broken my chin after an extremely bad decision when he slammed his foot on the brakes which caused me to hit a pole on the bus I regret traveling with arriva buses and I do not recommend traveling.
written by on 06/11/2014
Got on the 57 bus today with a buggy and I have a 16+ oyster card which has stopped beeping. I tried to swipe it as sometimes it doesn't work and sometimes does! I told him it had stopped beeping and he was rude! And took it out off the wallet and tried to re-swipe it and gave me dirty looks. He asked if I orders a new one. I said yes and he said well until it comes you need to pay! The cheek of it! Its a free oyster! It didn't beep red if it went red I would understand because it would be minus! All the other bus drivers have been fine with it! They just look to see if the picture looks like me and let's me on! It clearly says FREE TRAVEL!!!! He always pulled up really apart from the curb! So It was a struggle to the get buggy off the bus. Had to go in the road then back up onto the pavement.
written by unKelley6 on 18/10/2014
Why oh why is the arriva bus company so big? When they obviously dont adopt an sort of customer service policy or if they do it is not enforced. The website is positivly unusable unless your willing to download and to be frank if i cant trust a bus to arive or leave on time why would i want/need a download! Well at least the prices reflect the customer base oh wait no they dont!
written by Fiona25P on 19/09/2014
Well, if you expect good service - don't. You will have to wait forever. Maybe it's due to some development stage and something will change but foe now it is not worth any money.
written by on 06/05/2014
Where I live there are not many alternatives than to travel by Arriva Bus or Trains, but on top of the many late buses, early buses that don't wait, reckless driving and some bus drivers that seem to have a permanent chip on their shoulder, they can't even get their information straight. After raising the price of the bus fares once again they posted a list of the new prices. Being a student in my second year of college i had previously paid for a term student pass fr the autumn and spring terms. However with only four weeks of college left i decided to buy a four-weekly saver. The sign in the bus station stated that a Midlands Four-weekly saver was £55, so i bring £60 with me to the local Arriva information desk to buy said ticket, however after waiting for half an hour i reach the desk only to discover that the ticket was £65, more than i had at the time. I pointed out the sign with the prices to the Arriva representative but he said that it was for NHS workers only. Unable to buy the four-weekly saver i instead bought a weekly saver for £25. Later i searched the Arriva website only to discover that the prices were completely different, a four-weekly saver was £54 and a weekly saver was £18. The prices were on a completely different page to the ticket information and it took me at least 4 pages to reach the relevant information. Now Arriva are not completely bad, the buses are reasonably punctual and some of the drivers are pleasant and polite but others have been rude or reckless. One incident when a single ticket used to be £1.80 (now £2.10 within two years) and i gave the bus driver £2.00 for my fare. He gave me a lecture about how i should have the correct change and left me feeling embarrassed and despondent. If i was trying to pay with £20.00 then i would understand but 20p over the fare, a round price that most people would pay with does not make cause for a lecture. The driver seemed to think that i was supposed to provide a service to him making his job easier, but he is supposed to provide a friendly public service to me and the public and giving change for our tickets is a part of his job. Overall the general management of the bus service by Arriva has a lot of room for improvement but amazingly their service is uplifted slightly by some well-mannered staff who want to make the experience slighly better
written by on 04/11/2013
fed up of catching a bus in the wakefield area and seeing people with their feet on the seats opposite people have to sit on them when they have wiped their dirty feeton themmore offensive than the e cigs
written by on 12/09/2013
I have stopped driving to work in Tunbridge Wells from my home in Hildenborough and am reliant on the service 402 to get me there. Twice this week namely, Tuesday 10 Sept. and Wednesday 11 Sept the bus that I should catch from my stop at Hilden Avenue did not arrive although scheduled for 10:05. I always allow plenty of time to get my bus to work and on both occasions I had to catch the service at 10:25 which gave me two minutes to get into work after waiting a good 35 minutes and on Tuesday the 10:25 bus arrived before the 10:05 and was not overtaken by the earlier bus until we reached Tunbridge Wells. I am very disappointed with this service and if this is how it is going to be I shall go back to driving and parking in Tunbridge Wells for work although I would much rather go by public transport and not have the stress of driving and parking. Nothing good to say about the experience at all I am afraid.
written by saly12 on 28/06/2013
I get the bus, the 75 everyday to go to school and the bus is usually crammed and sweaty. When I got on the bus today, and when the bus moved from the stop before my bus stop, I rang the bell 2 times and stood by the driver. He didn't stop and the distance between the two stops was very big distance so I had to walk it back. The bus driver saw me shocked and didn't even say sorry to me. I forgot to mention, it was raining with hailstone too :/
written by on 11/05/2013
Even leaving early, the bus due before the one I should take (15 minutes early) is late, and they both roll past at the same time. What's going on? Absolutely terrible service, and month after month they're raising prices on their fares. It's bad, and even worse for people like me who have no other means of transport.
written by on 05/02/2013
In part using the buses around Durham is your own fault - everyone knows that they have issues with the schedule, and that is at the best of times. If it rains, who knows what will happen. The 6 is probably the worst of all of them though that I've experienced. I just got home after taking a cab, after the 2032 bus at my stop just never came. No rain, snow, or traffic - it just didn't show up. I even went out to the stop 10 mins early knowing that the buses sometimes will come early. Spent 25 minutes at the stop until, after realizing that I missed my other connection, I might as well just get a cab. This is far from the first time that this bus just doesn't show up. One time at the Durham bus station there were three of them at the same time, which all then left about a minute after each other. Because that's helpful to people trying to get the bus, that instead of having a bus every 15 minutes to have three buses go at the same time and then a what, a 45 minute break where people wonder if it's going to come at all? So yeah, overall pretty bad service, but I need to single out the particular route for being absolutely hopeless. There's no point in blaming the drivers either - it's the usual incompetence of the people upstairs who are otherwise insulated from the abuse that the public representatives have to face.
written by asdfghjklzxcvbnm on 12/01/2013
Today me and my 6 friends went on the train from Carmarthen to Swansea at 10:27. We had planned to catch the 4:05 train home. So when we got back to the train station at 3:50 we waited for the train to come when we see one with 'Carmarthen' on the back. We immediately got on and sat down in the best seats and waited for the man to come and check our tickets. When to our horror we hear the words 'I'm sorry but this train is going to Manchester. The board on the back is broken'. We were mortified. I definitely think that there is more room for improvement and should fix that sign now. We, a group of 7 of 14 year olds, could have ended up in Manchester, with no money, no hospitality due to your company being lazy. Needless to say we won't be using your company again.
written by scully2mulderuk on 20/11/2012
South East 6,6a,7 1. Drivers - I use the south east service. The drivers, on the whole, are so grumpy and rude it's almost like they don't want you to get on the bus at all, certainly not service with a smile. I can forgive them for this though, can you imagine having to drive on these dreadful roads every day, along with dreadful Joe Public...no incentive to muster the smallest of smiles. 2. Litter and cleanliness - absolute disgrace. I watched 2 kids polish off their KFC's and leave the rubbish on the seat. I asked them if they were going to take their rubbish with them and find a bin for it, you'd think I asked them in another language. The rubbish got taken off the bus, only to be thrown at the window where I was sitting. When I've seen adults doing the same, it's almost worth not bothering saying anything. 3. Cash - after living in London, there's only one thing I miss about living there. An Oyster card. I now use a service out of London where cash is the way forward...one bus stop can take up to 15 min of people getting on paying cash! In the meantime, the engine is running, the traffic is backing up, the kids on the bus getting noisier..carnage. It's ridiculous to allow cash payments for those without passes. 4. Heating - I get on the first bus of the day at 06.15am. It's freezing. Eventually the bus will warm up after about 1hr when I get off. It makes for a very uncomfortable ride. I assume the bus has an archaic heating system, as the bus is itself, but I suspect the driver hasn't put it on, securing the heat for him/herself at the front.
written by ekzist on 06/08/2012
I live on this little Mediterranean Island of Malta – guess you would have problems locating it on the map, being so small. (Hint: Look below Sicily). Yet ARRIVA has managed to make our (the daily commuters I mean) life one big hell. It has now been operating here for 1 year and has not yet solved teething problems. But for this blog I will limit myself to only one: complete failure to keep a semblance of time-schedules. Buses depart 10-20 minutes late from Termini, whilst a wait between 20 – 35 minutes at Bus Stops is a daily occurrence. When an ARRIVA bus arrives on time, it’s like the parting of the red sea – a miracle! We had a very (I mean very bad) public transport system before Arriva, but they delivered the essential element – being on time. Now we have air-conditioning and more routes but erratic and chaotic time departure and arrival times.
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