Bus route changes in High Wycombe have been met with criticism from residents. 

Arriva announced a network revamp in High Wycombe from September 3 to offer in bid to boost options for passengers.  

The changes mean many of the route numbers have now changed and on some routes, buses have doubled.

However, a week and a half after the changes some passengers and residents have criticised the changes.

Peter Cartwright, a former councillor and long-standing resident of High Wycombe, has slammed the way the changes were done.

He claimed there were “angry scenes” at the bus station when the changes kicked in in early September.

He called out Buckinghamshire Council and Arriva for the poor handling of the changes, saying the problems “could easily have been avoided” in an email sent to cabinet member Steven Broadbent.

He said the capacity on the route to Sands and Booker was insufficient considering the number of passengers, saying that the Council “has failed to acknowledge the numbers of passengers who will be severely impacted.”  

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“Putting passengers first is a key objective of the Council's Bus Improvement Plan and, in respect of the crosstown route 32, has failed dismally,” he wrote.

Peter also claimed the local councillors were not warned of the changes.

A mum from High Wycombe told on social media her daughter was left without a timely bus to Marlow Hill Schools from Kingswood Park after the bus route 31 changed to route 11, which no longer serves the Marlow Hill Schools.

She said: “The bus hasn't turned up all week so I called Arriva and they have said the service has been cancelled and they couldn't suggest any route that would get her to school without catching an Arriva at 7.22am followed by a Carousel which gets her to school 45 minutes early (assuming the connections work okay).”

However, the suggested connection wasn’t possible because she had “just spent a fortune on an Arriva annual ticket,” she explained.

A spokesperson for Arriva South said the company hadn't witnessed "any angry scenes at the bus station". 

“Our new High Wycombe network launched on September 3 following full consultation with Buckinghamshire Council and neighbouring local authorities.

“The new network has introduced enhanced frequencies on services to areas including Tylers Green, Penn, Micklefield, Cressex, Booker and Downley.

“Information on the new network was shared in advance of the changes onboard our buses, at High Wycombe Bus Station where timetable leaflets are available, through our website and social media, and of course were published in the media." 

Buckinghamshire Council's cabinet member for transport Steven Broadbent said bus routes is not "something the Council has powers to control." 

Occasionally, the Council can give money from central government grants to bus companies to "minimise disruption for residents and protect valued service as much as possible," but this kind of funding is "limited" and must be carefully allocated "in areas where it will have the greatest impact on the network," he said. 

He said the local ward members were notified of the changes "as soon as permitted" by the bus industry regulations, which control how quickly changes can be promoted. 

He said the Council was "sorry to hear that some residents have been affected by some of these changes." 

"We are continuing discussions with Arriva and would advise residents to raise any specific concerns they have directly with the bus company so that they can consider and address them," he added.