Arriva North West plans to close depots in Macclesfield and Winsford, which it says “have been lossmaking since before the pandemic.” Meanwhile, sister company Arriva Midlands announced at the same time that it expects to shutter its Oswestry base in Shropshire.
Consultation with affected staff is underway. If the Arriva North West proposals go ahead, they will see the group no longer serve the two locations in question along with Crewe, Northwich and several other towns in Cheshire East.
Staff at both businesses were first informed of the plans on Monday 27 February. Closure of Winsford by Arriva North West will also see abandonment of the long-established service between Crewe and Chester, although Arriva says it will work with “any new operators” that may step in to take on routes.
Arriva North West has pointed to the lack of funding allocated to Bus Service Improvement Plan submissions made by Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester councils as a further reason for its decision. It adds that patronage recovery at Macclesfield and Winsford has not been at the same level as “comparable operations” elsewhere.
“This is alongside the bus sector facing sustained and significant cost inflation, meaning that revenue from the operations does not cover the cost of running [them],” a statement notes.
‘Extensive’ attempts to avert Macclesfield, Winsford closures: Arriva
Arriva has taken “extensive actions to try and turn around these challenges,” it continues, citing network changes in parts of the areas served by Macclesfield and Winsford depots, but that work has not delivered the needed improvement.
The operator says it has also worked with both local authorities referenced to avoid the proposed closures, “but regrettably has not been able to find a way forward to return the depots to a financially sustainable position.”
At least Winsford depot has encountered a severe driver shortage in recent months, with local elected representatives becoming involved after complaints of poor service reliability. One source locally suggests that a planned round of new driver assessments there was cancelled recently, but that is unconfirmed.
Adds a spokesperson: “Withdrawing services and closing depots is always a very last resort. This very difficult decision has been taken following exhaustive steps to turn around the lossmaking 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.
“Our priority throughout this process is that everything runs as smoothly as possible, for both our customers and colleagues.” No date has been given for the likely closures. Combined fleet strength at Macclesfield and Winsford is around 35 buses.
Arriva Midlands Oswestry depot also slated for closure
In contrast to Macclesfield and Winsford, Arriva Midlands notes that the proposed closure of Oswestry depot will leave customer journeys “largely unaffected.”
What it describes as the “main” services at Oswestry will transfer to other Arriva depots in Shrewsbury and Wrexham, although five tendered services operated on behalf of Shropshire Council would be handed back.
Arriva Midlands says that its patronage in Shropshire has returned to just 54% of pre-pandemic levels, which is “far below national trends.”
It cites the same financial challenges and lack of BSIP funding as Arriva North West, but adds that concessionary reimbursement from Shropshire Council is “significantly below the levels provided by other councils… meaning [that] bus services have been operating at a sustained loss.”
