Chesterfield buses: MP requests another meeting with Stagecoach as woman left waiting for bus home for almost an hour

Gail Wagstaff, who lives in Wingerworth and relies on buses to travel to work in Chesterfield, says she has had continuous issues with the service 51.

The bus, which runs from Chesterfield Church Way to Danesmoor Springvale Close, is provided by Stagecoach and was highlighted by residents at a public meeting held in Chesterfield, on Tuesday, October 3.

Gail said: “Last Friday, on the way home I finished work earlier and it was around 3pm when the bus didn’t come and I waited about 50 minutes for 51 in Chesterfield. Earlier the same week, on Monday afternoon I went to Clay Cross and 51 didn’t turn up to bring me home. I was waiting about 40 minutes for another one.

"I’m worried because we are getting closer to winter and it is terrible when you have to wait so long outside.

“Now it is £2 per bus but before I was buying a bus pass for £19.50 a week because I live in North East Derbyshire so I needed a special silver bus pass to travel to Chesterfield. It’s a lot of money and on top of that, you have to get taxis sometimes which can be anything from £6 to £10. It’s just not good enough.”

Toby Perkins, Labour MP for Chesterfield, said: “I am disappointed to hear that passengers are still experiencing cancellations and delays on local bus services. Winter is just around the corner and I don’t want anyone being left out in the cold, wet and dark not knowing whether a bus is going to turn up. People shouldn’t be going to work and worrying that they might not able to get the bus home again.“I will be requesting another meeting with Senior Management at Stagecoach to highlight these problems and find out what is being done to improve services immediately. However, the long-term solution to these problems is to reform the sector and put communities firmly back in control of the public transport they depend on.“We need regular, reliable services. This will get more people out of their cars and onto public transport, reduces social isolation for those who can’t drive, increases people’s ability to take up work and is good for our local economy.“I will continue to do all I can to improve local services and am requesting that anyone who experiences delayed or cancelled services contact my office, and to report directly to Stagecoach, to help me hold the bus companies to account.”

Lee Rowley, Tory MP for North East Derbyshire added: “Bus services are clearly not where they need to be in North East Derbyshire at the moment. As MP, I’ve been trying to help where I can – both in terms of frequency and reliability.

“A few weeks ago, thanks to the County Council, we were able to find an alternative provider for most of the 80 service in the north of the constituency which is about to be withdrawn by Stagecoach. I’m grateful to Hulleys for taking over the Chesterfield to Killamarsh to Crystal Peaks service which will ensure that this vital link remains for community on the service. It is also good news that the service to Eckington is being restored.

“Reliability does still remain a problem, though, as Mrs Wagstaff highlights – both in the south and the north of the constituency. We continue to discuss this with the bus companies and the underlying reason seems to be the challenge of finding bus drivers.

"We’ll be holding our next bus users forum in the coming weeks to talk about these very issues and, if any resident of North East Derbyshire wants to join to talk to the bus companies, please get in touch and we would very much welcome everyone who wants to participate.”

A Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said: “The council is sorry to hear that the resident is experiencing reliability issues on a bus service that operates within Derbyshire. Service 51 is, however, operated by Stagecoach on a commercial basis. This means that the 51 service is under the sole ownership and responsibility of the operator.”

A Stagecoach spokesperson said: “Our teams are working really hard, day in and day out to provide a great service for customers to rely on but sadly sometimes services can be delayed or disrupted. When buses are delayed, it’s often for reasons outside of our control and we’re working closely with Derbyshire County Council to improve bus punctuality across the county.

“In the past we have faced staff shortages but we’ve had a really successful recruitment campaign and are now almost fully staffed. From 29 October we’re also able to enhance and improve some services in Derbyshire. We’d advise customers to use the Stagecoach app for the very latest on their journeys and to track where buses are.”

This comes after a campaign to improve bus services was launched by the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) and local NPC chairman Adrian Rimington has organised a series of meetings in Chesterfield and around to discuss the issues with residents and councillors.

This Saturday, October 14, bus protests will be held in Chesterfield, Matlock and Bakewell as a part of a national Campaign for Better Buses supported by the National Pensioners Convention, trade unions and climate groups.