KEY bus services in the region will be cut as an operator struggles with driver shortages and cancellations.
Bus operator Arriva announced plans for major changes in Darlington, Stockton, Middlesbrough, and the wider Tees Valley area, to be enforced from June 12.
It said it is making temporary changes to its services and timetables so that it can provide a “reliable service”.
Some services will be withdrawn from operation, while others will be increased.
A statement from Arriva read: “We know that reducing timetables is not a perfect solution, nor do we consider it a permanent one, however the changes we are introducing are designed to ensure critical routes continue to be served, reliably. We feel this is the least disruptive option available to us.
“These changes should mean we expect to have a suitable level of available drivers to operate the published timetable and to minimise disruption, whilst we work behind the scenes to recruit new drivers to help us restore our services back to normal frequencies.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our existing drivers, who continue to work extremely hard to run the level of service we do today. Their dedication is exemplary, and we would like to thank them for their continued efforts.”
Read more: Every Go North East route in County Durham being scrapped
The full list of route and timetable changes include:
Services 2/2A Red Hall to Branksome
Monday to Saturday off peak journeys will be revised to operate every 20 minutes. Evening journeys between Red Hall and Branksome will run hourly after 2200 hours daily. Service 2A journeys serving Amazon at shift times will continue to run every 15 minutes. Some Monday to Friday peak time journeys will serve Lingfield Point to replace X67 journeys which are temporarily withdrawn (see X66/X67).
Services 3/3A Skerne Park-Darlington-Mowden/Harrowgate Hill
Sunday daytime journeys between Skerne Park and Darlington will be reduced to operate hourly. No other changes on other days.
Service 4 Darlington – Minors Crescent
Sunday daytime journeys will be reduced to operate hourly. No other changes on other days.
Service 8 Middlesbrough – Netherfields
Monday to Friday daytime journeys will be reduced to operate every 12 minutes. No other changes on other days.
Service 9 Darlington – Springfield
Sunday daytime journeys will reduce to run hourly, when combined with Service 10 this will continue to provide a 30-minute frequency between Haughton Road and Darlington. No other changes on other days.
Service 10 Darlington – Whinfield
Sunday daytime journeys will reduce to run hourly, when combined with Service 9 this will continue to provide a 30-minute frequency between Haughton Road and Darlington. No other changes on other days.
Service 12 Teesside Airport – Hurworth
The 0719 Monday to Friday journey from Teesside Airport will terminate at Darlington Town Centre. An additional journey will run at 0802 from Darlington to Hurworth.
The 0807 Monday to Friday journey from Hurworth to Darlington will leave at 0817 and run 10 minutes later. No other changes on other days.
Services 13A/13B Darlington – Firth Moor
Sunday daytime journeys will reduce to run hourly on each service combining into a frequency of every 30 minutes between Darlington and Firth Moor. No other changes on other days.
Service 15 Roseworth – Stockton – Thornaby-Ingleby Barwick
Monday to Friday daytime journeys will reduce to operate every 15 minutes between Stockton and Thornaby Town Centre continuing every 30 minutes to either Bassleton Court or Ingleby Barwick. No other changes on other days.
Services X66/X67 Darlington – Middlesbrough
Service X67 will be temporarily withdrawn.
Service X66 will instead be increased to operate every 20 minutes during Monday to Saturday daytimes instead and all journeys will operate via Hartburn (as they currently do on evenings and Sundays), replacing Service X67 in this area.
Journeys between Faverdale and Darlington will be temporarily withdrawn.
The 2225 journey from Middlesbrough will now terminate at Hartburn on Monday to Saturday evenings.
Customers travelling to Amazon can use service 2A from Darlington Town Centre, whilst Lingfield Point customers will now be served by a revised Service 2 route, via Lingfield Point, During Monday to Friday peak hours.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated Darlington Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel