Elderly and disabled people in Beeston Rylands say they have been left feeling stranded due to bus driver shortages. Bus company CT4N operates the only bus service - the 18 - that runs through the Rylands.
It connects the area south of the train station to Beeston town centre and Nottingham. But the service has been unable to run at full capacity in recent months due to driver shortages and sickness.
Driver shortages are a national issue - a Unite the Union survey found there were bus driver shortages at 99 percent of bus garages. However public transport users in the Rylands are feeling it more than most.
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On Friday (August 5), CT4N, which stepped in to save the service after it was axed by Trentbarton in 2018, wrote on Twitter: "Unfortunately due to continued driver shortage and sickness all 18 Beeston Short journeys will not be operating today."
Announcements like these have become the norm for residents who rely on the bus to get into Beeston town centre. Wheelchair user Riley Wild said it could leave him stranded.
"My van, which is the only thing that will fit my wheelchair in, is in the garage for repairs," the 32-year-old told Nottinghamshire Live. "If there are no bus drivers then you're kind of trapped in the Rylands. Cancelled services have an impact on disabled people and the elderly.
"It could also do with running later than it is, disabled people do go out later than half six." Earlier this year a study described Beeston Rylands as 'well-connected' due to its close proximity to the train station.
But that does not help the less mobile get into Beeston. Michael Pitt, who has been living in the area "on and off" for more than 40 years, described the bus service as "terrible".
"It's badly connected with buses and it's not near a tram stop," said the 71-year-old. "Buses are terrible round here, it seems like there's only one an hour on a good day. When you think of the density of the population in the Rylands it needs to have a better bus service."
Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said that her elderly neighbours had been catching taxis into town due to a lack of buses. "They're rubbish," she said.
"They're absolutely horrendous, I would normally be getting the bus into town but luckily I can walk further. We've got a lot of old people and a lot get taxis now." A spokesman for CT4N said: “Although CT4N is a not-for-profit organisation, we are no different from other bus operators up and down the UK when it comes to difficulties with the recruitment and retention of drivers.
"This means we are having to make difficult choices on a day-to-day basis regarding balancing service delivery across our range of contracts and commercial services. As a result, the short journeys on service 18, operating to and from Beeston and Nottingham, are being cancelled on some days to facilitate the reallocation of driver resources to other routes.
"However, we are maintaining the hourly service from Nottingham via Beeston to Stapleford which serves all the same bus stops, including Beeston Rylands and Rylands Riverside Road. Indeed, we remain committed to serving the 18 route and we are striving to recruit additional drivers to enable us to return to full-service provision.”
In recent months the bus industry has been impacted by various factors, one being the delay in obtaining provisional licences from the DVLA for new drivers. Union leaders previously warned the shortage was being caused by better pay being offered to drive lorries.
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