Vital bus routes such as Nantwich to Chester and Shavington to Leighton Hospital could be axed for good under new plans by Arriva North West.
The company has announced that it is consulting with affected employees on a proposal to close its Winsford and Macclesfield depots.
The move, if confirmed, would see the closure of the depots with Arriva no longer operating any bus services in the Winsford, Northwich, Crewe and Macclesfield areas.
The company says both depots have been loss-making since before the pandemic.
It says the number of journeys taken by passengers in the areas served has not recovered to the same levels following the pandemic.
It also blames the bus sector facing sustained and significant cost inflation, which means revenue from the operations does not cover running costs.
Closure of both depots meant the following routes that will no longer operate:
84 Crewe – Nantwich/Chester
6 Leighton Hospital – Shavington
31 Northwich – Winsford – Crewe
37 Northwich – Winsford – Sandbach – Crewe
38 Crewe – Macclesfield
7 Winsford Local Circular
1 Northwich Circular via Rudheath and Weaverham
4 Barnton to Leftwich and Kingsmead via Northwich
3 Macclesfield – Weston
4 Macclesfield – Upton Priory
5 & 6 Macclesfield – Broken Cross
9 Macclesfield – Moss Rose
10 Macclesfield – Bollington
Affected employees and stakeholders have been notified that a consultation is underway on closing the sites.
A spokesperson for Arriva North West Bus said: “It is with great regret we announce we are consulting our highly valued team on the closure of our Winsford and Macclesfield depots which, if confirmed, would mean we would no longer operate any bus services in the Winsford, Northwich, Crewe and Macclesfield areas.
“Withdrawing services and closing depots are always a very last resort.
“This very difficult decision has been taken following exhaustive steps to turn around the loss-making 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.
“If the depots are closed, Arriva would work with Cheshire East, Cheshire West and, if routes transition from Arriva, any new operators.
“We have put in place support for our colleagues through this difficult time, including assisting with transferring to any other local Arriva depots.”
(Arriva bus pic by snowmanradio, creative commons)
We will really miss the hourly no 38 Crewe/ Macclesfield bus. Such a shame. There are no other buses that will take us from Congleton to Macclesfield station to catch trains from there. My son lives in London so I use the direct train service from Macclesfield to visit him. There are no other buses on this route
Under used or not its a vital service for many and against the strategy of helping people leave their cars behind. As City’s and town start implementing more ‘low emissions schemes shortly, it will be even more important to have connected bus services. Its local services working in reverse, for money not the greater good of the society. Almost no point me having a disabled bus pass, i’m not going to be able to use it between Crew, Nantwich and Chester.
Mentioning the No84 Crewe-Nantwich-Chester which is a bus route I regularly use, if the proposed depot closures go ahead, then a much needed lifeline bus service will be taken away. The No.84 is already an HOURLY service and the ONLY service on that route. There is no alternative reasonable means of getting about. Not everyone drives, so buses are much needed either to utilise for shopping, getting to work, keeping appointments or merely for socialising. I cannot comment on the other bus routes, but I guess similar sentiments would be expressed.
Totally absurd, Arriva considering closing depots, resulting in number of ‘lifeline’ bus routes being axed. In relation to the No.84, this is an already HOURLY service between Crewe-Nantwich-Chester, so removing the ONLY bus route, leaves people isolated. There are a number of businesses in the CW5 area, where some employees use the No.84 – so again no consideration for workers, let alone elderly etc etc, who rely on public transport. Not everyone drives.