Key route is being suspended

A KEY bus route between two towns is being suspended as driver shortages hamper public transport.

The Trentbarton 1A route will be suspended indefinitely from Monday, while the 27 service will see buses reduced to one every hour.

The 1A line runs between Ripley and Heanor via Waingroves and Loscoe, also calling at Aldecar and Langley Mill, while the 27 runs between Larkland and Swingate via Ilkeston, the Eastwood Ikea, Cossall and Awsworth.

It comes as dozens of Trentbarton services are cancelled each day due to a driver shortage affecting bus companies nationwide.

A Trentbarton spokesperson said: “Like many bus operators we are struggling with an ongoing shortage of drivers which is impacting our ability to reliably run our services at the frequencies we would like to.

“Our approach is to run slightly fewer services but with much greater reliability. We apologise to our customers who are affected by these temporary measures.”

When approached by the Derby Telegraph, a member of the Trentbarton customer service team said that the 1A route had not been running for several days due to staff shortages. They said passengers should use the Rainbow One service or the Amberline route.

The Rainbow One runs from Nottingham city centre to Ripley, via Codnor, Heanor and Langley Mill, and Alfreton via Brinsley, Jacksdale, Leabrooks, Somercotes and Selston. The Amberline runs from Derby city centre to Hucknall, via Kilburn, Heanor and Eastwood.

Speaking to the BBC, Trentbarton managing director, Jeff Counsell, said that the only part of the 1A route which was no longer served by any Trentbarton buses was Waingroves, and apologised to residents in the area. He said the company was “full pedal to the metal” recruiting new drivers.

Councillor Chris Emmas-Williams, representative for Loscoe ward on Heanor and Loscoe Town Council, said that the cancellation had come completely out of the blue and at “the worst possible time”.

He said: “Especially for the people of Waingroves, but also a few people from Codnor, it is going to be a disaster.

“I understand the shortage [of drivers] but I wonder whether they could use drivers from other services or other routes to service the people of Waingroves. “lot of people have used that service for a number of years. A lot of elderly people use it too. There are two schools – one in Waingroves and one in Ripley – it will affect people who need to get to the schools.”