Commuters angered by cancellation of Darwen to Accrington bus service

8:00pm Tuesday 25th September 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Dan Clough, Reporter

Travellers now have to change in Blackburn Travellers now have to change in Blackburn

COMMUTERS have hit out after a long-running bus service connecting Darwen to Accrington was cancelled by Transdev.

For years, the Number One bus service ran from Darwen Cemetery to Accrington town centre, via Blackburn town centre.

But Transdev, which runs the service, has switched it from a Spot On service to a Lancashire United Service, taking passengers from Ewood to Bolton.

The changes came into effect earlier this month meaning that for the first time in years passengers wishing to travel from Accrington to Darwen have to change at Blackburn.

Brian Holliday, 64, of Brecon Road, Intack, said he previously used the bus to go to meetings in Darwen.

He said: “I was stood there waiting for the Number One bus to Darwen and it just never came.

“One driver asked what I was waiting for and then told me I would have to go into Blackburn and change there.

“It was just a shock. This is ridiculous.”

Mr Holliday said the bus services in East Lancashire were poor compared to other parts of the country.

He said: “I go to Lincoln quite regularly and their buses are smashing.

“It is so much better in other counties where they run their own bus service and it’s not Transdev.”

Darwen Coun Dave Smith said he had raised concerns about the changes at a meeting with Transdev bosses.

He said: “They said hardly anyone caught the bus but I thought they were quite busy.

“There’s only one Number One bus an hour at night now.

“It also makes things difficult for people who may have got jobs in Darwen or Accrington because they knew the bus link was there.

“It is very disappointing.”

A Transdev spokesman said: “It was changed because there are often long delays in Blackburn town centre, so it was felt that by breaking up the service it would speed things up for passengers.

“When reviewed, only three per cent of passengers made the full journey from Darwen to Accrington.

“Splitting it so passengers change in Blackburn will make the service more reliable.”

Comments (17)

8:24pm Tue 25 Sep 12

cricketmad says...

Transdev have totally lost the plot with this, I used to get the Number 1 home from Blackburn to Accrington every week night, not any more as the powers that be have turned the service into the 41 which is now constantly late and overcrowded as they have move the 6 and 7 services that also used to go to Accrington.So you now have the same 80+ people trying to get onto 1 single decker instead of having the choice of 3 different services. They haven't even got the sense to put a double decker on.
The prices have gone up, the service has gone down and we don't even get the nice, new yellow buses, oh no , we get the grubby horrors that smell of wet dogs. Transdev think they have a monopoly on this route, well, they don't, and Pilkingtons are getting busier by the day!
Transdev have totally lost the plot with this, I used to get the Number 1 home from Blackburn to Accrington every week night, not any more as the powers that be have turned the service into the 41 which is now constantly late and overcrowded as they have move the 6 and 7 services that also used to go to Accrington.So you now have the same 80+ people trying to get onto 1 single decker instead of having the choice of 3 different services. They haven't even got the sense to put a double decker on. The prices have gone up, the service has gone down and we don't even get the nice, new yellow buses, oh no , we get the grubby horrors that smell of wet dogs. Transdev think they have a monopoly on this route, well, they don't, and Pilkingtons are getting busier by the day! cricketmad

8:35pm Tue 25 Sep 12

trevhd says...

Just as well the stupid bus lane has not been built
Just as well the stupid bus lane has not been built trevhd

8:36pm Tue 25 Sep 12

Noiticer says...

This is why privatised public transport is so wonderful, so much better than the old, public service Corporation Transport of yesteryear. It's the same on the privatised railway where it costs so much more to run the network. One day we will come full circle when the current neo-liberal economics are seen for what they are.
This is why privatised public transport is so wonderful, so much better than the old, public service Corporation Transport of yesteryear. It's the same on the privatised railway where it costs so much more to run the network. One day we will come full circle when the current neo-liberal economics are seen for what they are. Noiticer

8:43pm Tue 25 Sep 12

Carl_24 says...

Isn't Blackburn lovely!!!!!!
Isn't Blackburn lovely!!!!!! Carl_24

8:53pm Tue 25 Sep 12

cricketmad says...

Carl_24 wrote:
Isn't Blackburn lovely!!!!!!
Oh yes, delightful! Especially in the pouring rain with no shelter. I particularly like the many and varied wandering drunks that frequent the Boulevard and the slightly menacing beggars, it adds such a continental feel..... If I didn't work there I would avoid it like the plague, hence my desire to get out of after work and not spend 40 minutes chez Boulevard!
[quote][p][bold]Carl_24[/bold] wrote: Isn't Blackburn lovely!!!!!![/p][/quote]Oh yes, delightful! Especially in the pouring rain with no shelter. I particularly like the many and varied wandering drunks that frequent the Boulevard and the slightly menacing beggars, it adds such a continental feel..... If I didn't work there I would avoid it like the plague, hence my desire to get out of after work and not spend 40 minutes chez Boulevard! cricketmad

8:56pm Tue 25 Sep 12

frank says...

"Splitting it so passengers change in Blackburn will make the service more reliable.”

rubbish ,transdev don't know what reliable is.
try getting from great harwood to burnley or preston using a transdev "connection" you've chance because their service never runs to time.
best to take a sleeping bag and flask when you use this hopeless comnpany.
"Splitting it so passengers change in Blackburn will make the service more reliable.” rubbish ,transdev don't know what reliable is. try getting from great harwood to burnley or preston using a transdev "connection" you've chance because their service never runs to time. best to take a sleeping bag and flask when you use this hopeless comnpany. frank

9:01pm Tue 25 Sep 12

burner says...

Buy yerselves a car . . . or, if you listen to certain folk, get a bike !!!
Buy yerselves a car . . . or, if you listen to certain folk, get a bike !!! burner

9:02pm Tue 25 Sep 12

Malthus says...

I think the people who are complaining are confusing a bus service with a mass people transit system for profit. Sadly, the days of "On The Buses" are over. If a route is not profitable then it will be cut. Get real you people who use public transport and put your hand's in your pocket's and invest in a car. Why should everyone else have to subsidise your transport to your minimum pay job's.
I think the people who are complaining are confusing a bus service with a mass people transit system for profit. Sadly, the days of "On The Buses" are over. If a route is not profitable then it will be cut. Get real you people who use public transport and put your hand's in your pocket's and invest in a car. Why should everyone else have to subsidise your transport to your minimum pay job's. Malthus

9:11pm Tue 25 Sep 12

cricketmad says...

Malthus wrote:
I think the people who are complaining are confusing a bus service with a mass people transit system for profit. Sadly, the days of "On The Buses" are over. If a route is not profitable then it will be cut. Get real you people who use public transport and put your hand's in your pocket's and invest in a car. Why should everyone else have to subsidise your transport to your minimum pay job's.
I would love a car,sadly I work for a living and have a teenager to bring up on my own, and since our combined travel fares ( hers to Sixth Form and mine to work) are already £120 per month I'll not have any chance of a) affording a car, b) affording lessons, c) insuring it and d) buying petrol. Thanks for your helpful comments though...
[quote][p][bold]Malthus[/bold] wrote: I think the people who are complaining are confusing a bus service with a mass people transit system for profit. Sadly, the days of "On The Buses" are over. If a route is not profitable then it will be cut. Get real you people who use public transport and put your hand's in your pocket's and invest in a car. Why should everyone else have to subsidise your transport to your minimum pay job's.[/p][/quote]I would love a car,sadly I work for a living and have a teenager to bring up on my own, and since our combined travel fares ( hers to Sixth Form and mine to work) are already £120 per month I'll not have any chance of a) affording a car, b) affording lessons, c) insuring it and d) buying petrol. Thanks for your helpful comments though... cricketmad

10:31pm Tue 25 Sep 12

anonther says...

Where do these cuts leave the Utopia that will be the Pennine Reach investment millions?
Where do these cuts leave the Utopia that will be the Pennine Reach investment millions? anonther

11:38pm Tue 25 Sep 12

Sad Darwener says...

Whats happened to the number 225 buses???
Whats happened to the number 225 buses??? Sad Darwener

7:28am Wed 26 Sep 12

AnthonyUK says...

Bus privatisation was the WORST ever thing that ever came out of the 80's and should never have happened or been allowed to happen;the bus companies as they were long before the evil stagecoach and equally awful transdev took over WERE way better then than they ever are now.
Bus privatisation was the WORST ever thing that ever came out of the 80's and should never have happened or been allowed to happen;the bus companies as they were long before the evil stagecoach and equally awful transdev took over WERE way better then than they ever are now. AnthonyUK

9:11am Wed 26 Sep 12

frank says...

AnthonyUK wrote:
Bus privatisation was the WORST ever thing that ever came out of the 80's and should never have happened or been allowed to happen;the bus companies as they were long before the evil stagecoach and equally awful transdev took over WERE way better then than they ever are now.
privatisation brought in by a bunch of millionaires who never used buses.
[quote][p][bold]AnthonyUK[/bold] wrote: Bus privatisation was the WORST ever thing that ever came out of the 80's and should never have happened or been allowed to happen;the bus companies as they were long before the evil stagecoach and equally awful transdev took over WERE way better then than they ever are now.[/p][/quote]privatisation brought in by a bunch of millionaires who never used buses. frank

9:29am Wed 26 Sep 12

darwenTower says...

But why do the government privatise?

It's partly/largely down to the fact that when people work in the civil service they take the p1$$ and provide a highly inefficient service.
But why do the government privatise? It's partly/largely down to the fact that when people work in the civil service they take the p1$$ and provide a highly inefficient service. darwenTower

11:03am Wed 26 Sep 12

ricksh says...

Sad Darwener wrote:
Whats happened to the number 225 buses???
The 225 is now a number 22 which only runs between blackburn and clitheroe
[quote][p][bold]Sad Darwener[/bold] wrote: Whats happened to the number 225 buses???[/p][/quote]The 225 is now a number 22 which only runs between blackburn and clitheroe ricksh

12:38pm Wed 26 Sep 12

Viv says...

ricksh wrote:
Sad Darwener wrote:
Whats happened to the number 225 buses???
The 225 is now a number 22 which only runs between blackburn and clitheroe
Or the 225 is now the Number 1 which runs between Blackburn and Bolton!!

The new timetables are a disgrace - the last bus to Darwen now leaves the Boulevard at 10:05pm. This is sheer stupidity and leaves workers who rely on this bus running later into the evening having to negotiate with their employers to allow them to finish shifts earlier.
[quote][p][bold]ricksh[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]Sad Darwener[/bold] wrote: Whats happened to the number 225 buses???[/p][/quote]The 225 is now a number 22 which only runs between blackburn and clitheroe[/p][/quote]Or the 225 is now the Number 1 which runs between Blackburn and Bolton!! The new timetables are a disgrace - the last bus to Darwen now leaves the Boulevard at 10:05pm. This is sheer stupidity and leaves workers who rely on this bus running later into the evening having to negotiate with their employers to allow them to finish shifts earlier. Viv

11:30pm Thu 27 Sep 12

2 for 5p says...

Could someone please tell me what is wrong with the idle swine, getting off one bus and getting on another, do sent take up to much energy does it.
Saving your energy for your beer drinking and signing your names once a fortnight. :-)
Could someone please tell me what is wrong with the idle swine, getting off one bus and getting on another, do sent take up to much energy does it. Saving your energy for your beer drinking and signing your names once a fortnight. :-) 2 for 5p

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