Although the latest government figures show English passenger numbers still hovering around 60% of normal levels, service cuts in some areas but enhancements elsewhere show the picture is much more mixed across the country.
Arriva Midlands is reducing frequencies on local services in Derby, Leicester, Tamworth and Telford, generally by one step, so that 12min routes are now every 15min, 15min routes reduce to 20 and so on. However, later journeys are added to some routes in Leicester.
Elsewhere, Arriva is improving timetables in Northumbria, Wakefield, Watford and Hemel Hempstead, but there are cuts in Hertford. In Huddersfield, it will face competition from Transev's Team Pennine, which is introducing route 262 to Kirkheaton, challenging the existing 261 service. Arriva is doubling its service to half-hourly, twice the frequency of Team Pennine's new offering. First is adding extra peak capacity in Norwich, while many operators are retiming services as traffic congestion increases - Department for Transport figures show general road traffic at or near pre-Covid levels.
