Two dozen Wigan pupils stranded miles from school after new bus driver takes wrong route

It was an inauspicious start to the much-vaunted new public transport Bee Network for Orrell St Peter’s RC High pupils living in Standish this week.

And the issue was only finally resolved when an assistant headteacher mobilised the school minibus to collect them. Even then the rescue mission wasn’t straightforward because there were twice as many youngsters in need of a lift than the vehicle could accommodate, and so two shuttle journeys were required.

Bryn-based Go North West recently won the contract from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to take over the 972 and 973 routes running from Standish to Orrell, but on Monday (October 1) it appears that both drivers took the 972 route, leaving all the youngsters waiting for the 973 without any service.

Some parents were far from happy.

Mum Sara Pemberton said: “The bus company really ought to have got its act together.

"There were 25 youngsters standing at the bus stop near Aldi until about 10am. Some decided to go home, some got lifts but it was only when the school was notified and a senior member of staff rocked up with the minibus that the children got to school.

"There are safeguarding issues here. My child has only just started at St Peter’s and I don’t like to think that he’s left at the roadside for ages on end. Some stranger might have offered him a lift and he’s vulnerable enough to have accepted.”

The headteacher of St Peter’s, Andy McGlown, said: “The buses have switched to a new provider under the Bee Network and they have new drivers on the routes, at least one of whom wasn’t familiar with them.

"It seems they both took the 972 route on Monday which left some students on the 973 route waiting for a bus that wasn’t coming.

"And on Tuesday we understand that some children at a couple of stops at the beginning of the route weren’t picked up either.

"We have spoken to management at TfGM and they have said they will address the situation.

"I think we can call these teething troubles and I don’t expect this sort of thing to carry on.”

A spokesperson for Transport for Greater Manchester said: "Bringing buses under local control is the biggest change to public transport in almost 40 years and while things are working well overall, we are aware of some performance issues relating to the 973 bus, including a journey that did not run yesterday.

"Clearly it is unacceptable to leave any child without a bus to school, and we have raised our concerns with the operator, who we are meeting on a daily basis as part of the transition to the Bee Network.

“The operator has taken steps to improve the service, which we will continue to monitor closely and I'd like to reassure the school, parents and pupils that we are committed to resolving any concerns they have."