A WREXHAM dad was left seething after a bus driver would not allow his daughter on  a school bus after her QR code failed to load, leaving her in ‘floods of tears’.

Matthew Bailey’s daughter, Lois, was catching the bus from Mold Road in the town with her friends on her way to school when she was not allowed to travel on the number 27 service after having difficulty with her valid QR code loading – which her dad pays for.

Upon showing the bus driver her ticket details, the driver allegedly said, ‘Not my problem’, and proceeded to close the doors and drive off, leaving the eleven-year-old stranded and in tears having only been attending Ysgol Maes Garmon secondary school for just over a month.

Dad, Matthew was left fuming to discover his daughter upset upon picking her up.

“My blood was boiling after that.” Began a furious Matthew.

“I don’t see how they could leave a kid that small at the bus stop like that.

“There’s been times when she’s been coming the other way from school and the bus has been full and the bus driver has said ‘no more the bus is full’ and left the kids there. Three eleven-year-olds who have just started school.

“Then on the Monday, (October 10), the bus just drove past and didn’t even stop for them.”

Matthew also said his daughter claims she overheard bus drivers on the service allegedly say, ‘I don’t know why they don’t just go to a school they can walk to’.

A spokesperson for Arriva said: “The issue has been addressed by local management to prevent further occurrences.”

This isn’t the first instance where members of the community have been left frustrated with Arriva’s services.

Councillor Emma Holland, Plaid Cymru councillor for Gwersyllt North, said:  "Unfortunately, the experience of this schoolchild is not an isolated incident. The area I represent is very badly served by Arriva. 

"Recently the bus timetable was changed in Summerhill and the service was replaced with the 21h. Residents were not made aware of this until a couple of days after the event.  

"As a councillor for Gwersyllt North, I receive regular complaints about the new timetable, which takes no account of the passengers that use it.  Moving the bus departures forward by around 15 minutes has left Summerhill residents who work on the Wrexham industrial estate with just one minute spare to catch their connecting bus.

“This is on the off chance that the bus turns up at all.  

"Both my sons have been left stranded at the Top Road bus stop and have been late for their 6th-form college and university.

“Other parents in the area are now forced to drive their children to school and college, due to the unreliability of the 21h bus service.  

"When climate change is such a huge issue for us all and everybody needs to reduce their carbon footprint, a fit-for-purpose bus service should be priority.  

“Unfortunately, with a multinational company such as Arriva in the driving seat, so to speak, this is never going to happen."

Responding to these comments from Cllr Holland, an Arriva Spokesperson said: “The Summerhill changes were communicated two weeks prior with onboard notices, on our social media, and also a very large mail drop around all the areas.

“Regarding bus stop timetables, the local authority manages this.

“From 30 October 2022 the journey on service 21 departing Wrexham at 06.45, will be revised to depart at 06.40 returning from Summerhill to Wrexham at 06.58. This should make the connection to the industrial estate better.”

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