Arriva North West driving instructor and ‘Buswalker’ Neil Atherton (pictured, right) has raised £9,800 for food banks across two challenges he has completed in 2025 so far, with one left to round off the year’s efforts.
Mr Atherton began with a 50-mile walk on 27 April taking in six of the operator’s depots. That was followed with a series of walks of bus routes in the Liverpool City Region and further afield in North Wales, with that exercise wrapping up on Saturday 30 August via coverage of the famous 10A between St Helens and Liverpool city centre.
Mr Atherton has now been nominated by his employer in the Fundraising Hero category at The Guide Liverpool Heroes Awards. He goes up against six other finalists, with the winner to be decided by a public vote that can be accessed here. Voting closes at midnight on Tuesday 30 September, with winners to be named in November.
With a further challenge for 2025 involving ‘Santa dashes’ in September, Mr Atherton looks set to pass the £10,000 threshold for money raised this year. He says he is “blown away” with the £9,800 raised so far. Funds will be distributed to foodbanks along his walks.
On his walks, Mr Atherton is accompanied by his Buswalker shopping trolley, which is made up to look like an Arriva double-decker. It is used to highlight the impact of food poverty. Various foodbank representatives have also joined him.
One notable, and usually inaccessible, piece of road covered during the 2025 challenges has been the Birkenhead Tunnel beneath the Mersey. Usually well out of bounds to pedestrians, it is heavily used by Arriva’s cross-river services between Wirral and Liverpool.
Passing through the tunnel took three months to plan. Each weekend, either the Birkenhead or Wallasey tunnel sees a period of closure for maintenance and Mr Atherton was able to take advantage of that.
“Tunnel authorities allowed only a certain number of people – 15, including me – to walk through under police escort for health and safety reasons,” he adds.
Support for Mr Atherton’s efforts in 2025 has also come from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA).
Transport Committee Chair Cllr Steve Foulkes noted in July that it is “people like Neil who make our city region so special” and paid tribute to ‘Buswalker’ efforts by Mr Atherton to help those in need. “What a great way to do it, mixing his profession and passion for buses covering some of our best-known routes,” Cllr Foulkes added.
Donations continue to be accepted via a dedicated GoFundMe page.
