Arriva needs to get its act together

A student from Rickmansworth missed her college exam after her bus failed to turn up.

Chloe Lodge, 17, had an exam at her college in Watford on Wednesday, February 6, but missed it because the bus she needed to get from Maple Cross failed to show up. 

The 520 Arriva bus has been the subject of criticism from a number of local councillors and residents in recent months.  

Chloe’s dad John Lodge, explained: “My daughter had the exam at 1pm and got to the bus stop on Denham Way for 11, so she left plenty of time for herself to get there.

“She was waiting there until 12, at which point she started to panic and called me. 

“A bus is meant to come every half an hour. Which means three buses failed to turn up. One should have come at 11 but didn’t, then 11.30, and then 12.

“I’m not sure if they cut the buses altogether or if they just weren’t going down that road like they’re meant to, but it’s not an isolated incident. I had the same issue myself a couple of weeks before.

“She called me in a panic and she ended up getting an Uber to Watford, but she missed her exam.”

John, who lives in Woodland Road, said the lack of buses has bigger implications for other members of the community.

He said: “There are elderly people who live in our community that fully rely on those buses. And if they don’t show up, it’s worse for them than anyone because they’re vulnerable and could be out in the cold for hours with no alternative.

“Arriva needs to get its act together.”

Luckily, Chloe’s college was accepting of the circumstances and agreed to let her sit the exam at a later date.

Councillor Angela Killick, who represents Maple Cross, said: “The intermittent 520 bus service is a disgrace. 

“I have received far too many complaints about two or more consecutive no-shows. Sometimes it is four consecutive no-shows. It is so cruel to people needing to get to doctors and hospital appointments who just get left standing at bus stops.”

An Arriva spokesperson said: “After an internal investigation into the services and timeframes in question, we can confirm that there were no service cancellations. However, one of our services did experience a delay of 10 minutes due to congestion in the area. Again, we offer our sincere apologies to John Lodge, his daughter and any other passengers affected for the inconvenience caused by this delay, and we are happy to meet with him to discuss this further.”