Pupils 'waiting hours' to get home as buses 'drive on by'

One parent told the ECHO her child had to wait an hour and a half for the bus one day after school Parents claim their year seven children are enduring a three-hour long commute home after school. Joshua Rice started at St Hilda's Church of England High School this month, with his mum claiming the 11-year-old is one of several new students who are being forced to wait upwards of an hour and a half most days before the number 60 bus arrives to take him to his home in West Derby . Speaking to the ECHO , his mum Louise explained that some days parents in a year seven WhatsApp group are having to arrange who can collect pupils because the bus hasn't stopped despite, she claims, there being seats available.

She said: "They're meant to come every 20 minutes and these are little year sevens who are waiting hours because the buses either aren't stopping or just not arriving at all. "Some parents are having to leave work to pick their children up from school because the bus hasn't turned up. In some cases there are spaces for them in the top deck of the bus and they're still not stopping.



" The 47-year-old explained there are no issues for Joshua getting to school in the morning, but he continues to suffer issues getting home. Louise said her older daughter, who left the school this year, had similar issues but would get the bus into the city centre then home to get around the unpredictable timings. In WhatsApp messages seen by the ECHO, one parent claimed her son had two buses drive past him before the third bus stopped at 4.

20pm, an hour and a half after pupils finished at St Hilda's. The mum-of-three continued: "He loves the school, he enjoys the lessons and likes his teachers but when you speak to him about the bus home he just sighs. "He has friends who went to the local school and it takes them 20 minutes to get home but St Hilda's is the closest C of E school so we didn't have much of a choice.

" The group of parents have collectively put in 11 complaints to Arriva, a complaint to the school and a complaint to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. In a statement to one of the parents, St Hilda's said: "To be honest it is one of many in relation to the 60 bus. To be blunt, the council have no plans to add a 'school bus'.

We have asked many times. We are aware the demand to head to the North End is high." It goes on to explain the parents can either charter their own coach for children or write to the local MP to request a solution to the ongoing issue.

The school also said children who miss the bus are welcome back into the building until the next one arrives. When approached for comment about the ongoing issues children face, Liverpool City Council declined to comment and a spokesperson for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority explained the bus service is a commercial service and not one for the LCRCA to comment on. In response to the list of complaints received from parents, Arriva blamed the recent issues on roadworks and temporary traffic lights in the area.

A spokesperson for the bus company told the ECHO they had no evidence of a route 60 bus going past stops with empty seats. A spokesperson for Arriva Merseyside said: "We are doing our best to operate the 60 service as reliably as we can. However, the traffic has not been flowing on the roads normally due to roadworks and temporary traffic lights.

"We try to keep the service running to time, but sometimes our buses are stuck in the delays, just as other road-users are. We understand our customers’ concerns and can only apologise for the traffic conditions which are out of our control.".