Wrexham: Girl, 11, in tears after bus driver wouldn't let her on

Year 7 pupil Lois was found "distraught" by her father after the bus left without her

An 11-year-old girl on her way to school was left sobbing at a bus stop after the driver would not let her on board.

Lois was not allowed on the Arriva bus in Wrexham because she was unable to download a QR code on her phone.

Her father Matthew said the company needs a "change of culture".

Arriva said: "The issue has been addressed by local management to prevent further occurrences."

Lois's father said she had tried to show the driver on her Arriva app that she did have a bus pass for the month, but he told her it wasn't his problem, before driving off.

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The Year 7 pupil was found "distraught" by her father at the stop in Gwersyllt after the bus left without her last Wednesday.

'Third time left stranded'

He then drove her the nine miles (14km) to Ysgol Maes Garmon in Mold.

He said it was the third time she had been left stranded by Arriva since she started there in September.

He added that in the second week of the new term, Lois and some other year 7 pupils were left at the school bus stop at the end of the day because the driver said the bus was full.

He said that then last week, the bus passed by all the pupils waiting at the stop.

Katie Wilby, Flintshire council chief officer for streetscene and transportation, said the authority had been told that the Arriva service 27 had failed to serve the Mold campus "on several occasions" in the past month.

"I work away three days a week, I am not always here to help get Lois to school," says her father

Although Arriva's Wrexham to Mold route is a public bus service, she said that following the concerns raised, the council had "provided separate, alternative transport for eligible pupils, which has released more seating capacity on the commercial bus service".

The council added that it would continue to monitor transport arrangements.

Meanwhile, Lois's father said he had had an email from Arriva about her being left alone at the bus stop, in which they were told the matter would be taken up with the driver.

But he said said that was not enough: "You need a change in culture, I don't want one guy treated as a scapegoat.

'Poorly served'

"I just hope in future it's more reliable, and that I won't get a phone call."

He also took his complaint to his local councillor, Emma Holland, who said she had also had her own issues with Arriva, after buses sometimes had not turned up for her sons trying to get to college in Wrexham.

She said the bus service was "not fit for purpose" and that her community was "poorly served" by Arriva.

Ms Holland said: "Climate change is such a big issue and we should all be using public transport more, but Arriva is not providing a good service. People are becoming isolated."

Arriva said there had been changes made to the Wrexham network following consultation with stakeholders and that it welcomed feedback from passengers on its services and timetables.