A woman from Marlow said her local Arriva bus service is in a ‘diabolical’ state amid continued delays and cancellations.

Over the last few months, Jenny Bunni, 74, has noticed a concerning trend in the Arriva bus service between her home in Marlow and High Wycombe, where she volunteers three times a week.

The retiree said an increasing number of buses are being cancelled at short notice, leaving her and other residents stranded, waiting for long periods, or reverting to other means of transport altogether.

Although she believes herself to be a relatively “laidback” person, Jenny said her frustration reached a breaking point last Monday, February 26, when five buses were cancelled in one day, with the only functioning service ferrying travellers between the two towns at 11:30am, a non-commuter time.

“It’s a real problem – I’m generally not too badly affected, but I know people who have missed dentist appointments and whose children can’t get to school because there are no buses.

“When you live somewhere like Marlow or Bourne End, you are isolated – some people can only get into Wycombe on the bus.”

Jenny said she now checks for cancellations on the Arriva app before heading to a bus stop but acknowledges that others – especially older residents – may not know how to do the same.

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“Lots of people don’t have the technology. They might get stuck somewhere and have to call a taxi or an Uber to pick them up. People can’t afford that - it's diabolical.

“I’m lucky because I do have a car, but I have a senior citizen bus pass too, which I want to use. I don’t see the point in the government and the council pushing these environmental schemes when there just aren’t any buses available.”

Claire Madden, 44, from Flackwell Heath, previously expressed similar concerns about buses in the area in February, accusing the unreliable service of leaving schoolchildren “standing day after day out in the cold”.

Although Arriva did not respond to a request for comment, Chris Burley, Area Director for Arriva South, told the Free Press last month that he recognised the company has “not been performing as well as customers deserve”.

He added: “We’ve got support from senior managers, and we’re working on operational and engineering challenges.

“We are really sorry for this, and I want to reassure our customers that we are working hard to address it.”