Western Greyhound bus services across Cornwall have been condemned by a national passengers’ group, following thousands of complaints. And in a remarkable interview, the bus company’s chief executive blamed some of his own staff for trying to sabotage the company.
The company’s problems have come under the microscope following chaotic services which in recent weeks have frequently seen buses failing to turn up. Although Western Greyhound has tried to update passengers with timetable information on its website, many passengers without internet access have been left waiting at bus stops with no idea that the bus was not coming.
Bus Users UK estimates that some days as many as 10 buses have failed to arrive. Services in the Liskeard, St Austell, Newquay, Bodmin, Wadebridge and Padstow areas have all been affected. The campaign group’s chief executive, Claire Walters, said she had been “swamped” with complaints and was “extremely concerned.”
One passenger, who asked not to be named, wrote to the Cornish Guardian to describe problems near Padstow. “We have seen queues of 20-30 people waiting for an hour,” she said. “Locals can’t get to work, or from work. Hospital appointments in Bodmin and Truro, needing the Wadebridge connection, have been missed.”
She said the problems seemed to affect the 555 route in particular, although other services had also seen delays or cancellations.
Jason Higgs, from Liskeard, has set up a Facebook page called “Western Greyhound, Where’s My Bus?” and claims hundreds of buses fail to reach their destinations every week.
Ms Walters said Bus Users UK was in touch with the Traffic Commissioner about Western Greyhound’s services in Cornwall – the Commissioner has the power to strip the company of its operating licence. “He could also impose a big fine,” she said. “The trouble is that if that happened, the company might go bust and passengers in Cornwall might be even worse off than they are today. There is no magic wand.
“But the company has got to sort itself out. Passengers are entitled to rely on the published timetable. It should not come as a surprise to the company that there is a lot of tourist traffic in the summer.”
Speaking on BBC Radio Cornwall this morning, Western Greyhound chief executive Mark Howarth acknowledged the company’s failings and set out a variety of reasons.
These included damage to the bus fleet caused by last winter’s storms, resulting in increased mechanical breakdowns and maintenance costs, and commercial difficulties stemming from the requirement to carry some elderly passengers free of charge – but in a remarkable outburst at the end of the interview, he blamed some of his own staff for trying to sabotage the company.
“We are going through some very serious difficulties at the moment,” he said. “But most of our buses do run. People say they are unreliable, when in fact they are full. But I can’t wave a magic wand and put it right tomorrow.
“I’ve got a very hardworking team. Unfortunately there are one or two individuals – a small number of our members of staff, who are working against us and trying to sabotage us. And these people know who they are and we’re working in order to deal with that because the bulk of the staff are really working hard. And I would say to the passengers please don’t treat everybody the same way if they have a problem.”
In May last year, the company lost 35 buses in an arson attack at its Summercourt depot. In January of this year, a further three buses were lost in a second arson attack near Liskeard.
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