Elderly passengers were allegedly "left stranded" at a bus stop after "lifeline" transport links have been cut by 50% in one Merseyside town.
According to Lucy Johnson, a Liberal Democrat campaigner, bus users in Heswall found themselves stuck when their regular service failed to show up on Monday morning. This comes after operator A2B, which runs buses in conjunction with Merseytravel, announced three Heswall services would see their timetable reduced to just one bus every two hours.
Lucy told the ECHO: "Some elderly passengers were left stranded when their regular bus failed to turn up. Although buses started running to the new timetable on Monday, timetables at the bus stops had still not been updated.
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“The three routes – the 174, 175 and 181 - are operated by A2B, who took over four routes serving other parts of Wirral this week. But they have told us that they have been unable to recruit enough extra drivers to cover all their routes."
A2B confirmed national staff shortages have affected their operations and the company said many of their drivers have taken on extra hours to ensure passengers aren't stranded. However, Lucy has questioned why the company has been awarded extra routes in other parts of the borough.
She said: “If A2B didn’t have the capacity to take on these new routes, you have to ask whether it was responsible to bid for the contracts. The result is that residents in Heswall and Pensby who rely on these local services are being left with 50% fewer buses.
“The drivers know most of the regular passengers, who depend on this friendly bus service. It is vital this lifeline is restored to an hourly service as soon as possible, but A2B have said it could take anything between one and three months to recruit and train new drivers.”
A spokesperson for A2B said: "I can confirm that there is a national shortage of experienced public service vehicle (PSV drivers) which has directly affected us with this new round of contract awards. We are currently training drivers up to PSV standards and hope to have the drivers we need ready for service as soon as possible.
"Our current drivers have all stepped up and increased their working days and hours to help with this situation and ensure that every service runs, all be it on a reduced service, so that passengers are not left stranded without any form of transport. We understand that passengers are upset that their services are currently not as they were, but hope for their understanding through this difficult time within the industry.
"We offer our assurances that every single member of our team here at A2B are doing their best to alleviate and resolve this issue as a matter of urgency."
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