Arriva ‘saddened’ to plan depot closures
Arriva is planning to close its Winsford, Macclesfield and Oswestry depots.
If confirmed, the closure of the Winsford and Macclesfield depots would see Arriva North West no longer operating its 13 bus services in the Winsford, Northwich, Crewe and Macclesfield areas.
The operator says both depots have been loss-making since before the pandemic and passenger numbers have not recovered to the same levels as comparable operations following the Covid-19 outbreak. It says its efforts to turn around the struggling operations, including a largely new network in November 2021 and working with local councils, have been unsuccessful.
“Withdrawing services and closing depots are always a very last resort” – Arriva North West
A spokesperson for Arriva North West Bus said: “It is with great regret we announce we are consulting our highly valued team on the closure of our Winsford and Macclesfield depots which, if confirmed, would mean we would no longer operate any bus services in the Winsford, Northwich, Crewe and Macclesfield areas.
“Withdrawing services and closing depots are always a very last resort. This very difficult decision has been taken following exhaustive steps to turn around the loss-making services but with consistently too few customers to cover the increased cost of running services it is sadly necessary to launch a consultation with affected employees on closing the depots.”
Arriva’s plans to close its Oswestry depot would see passenger journeys largely unaffected, with the main bus routes operated from the site transferring across to Arriva’s Shrewsbury and Wrexham depots.
Services run from the loss-making Oswestry depot are also struggling to regain patronage, with Arriva Midland’s bus users in Shropshire taking 54% of journeys travelled prior to the pandemic.
If the proposal to close the Oswestry site goes ahead, Arriva will cease to operate some local contracted bus services in the area and is in dialogue with the local authority with the expectation that a new operator would take on these services from May.
“We are saddened to announce today that we are consulting with our valued employees about the closure of our Oswestry depot” – Arriva Midlands
A statement from Arriva Midlands said: “We are saddened to announce today that we are consulting with our valued employees about the closure of our Oswestry depot.
“While there would be very limited impact on customer journeys, closing depots is not a decision we take lightly and this only follows sustained and extensive interventions to attempt to turn around the losses in Shropshire.
“Our priority throughout this process is that everything runs as smoothly as possible, for both our customers and our high valued team.
“If the proposal goes ahead, Arriva will work with Shropshire Council and any new operators as school routes transition to new suppliers, with any changes to school services not expected until May.”
Arriva notes that all regions containing these closing depots have been unsuccessful in securing BSIP funding.