A father in Buckinghamshire has been left ‘insulted’ as Arriva offered him a voucher following ‘shocking’ bus cancellations.

Janan Fehmi, a new resident of Marlow Bottom, was travelling to Henley College with his daughter on July 16.

The resident said he and his daughter were ‘extremely excited’ to be attending an induction day at the sixth form.

However, buses on the 800 and 850 route from High Wycombe to Reading were cancelled by Arriva, causing the father and daughter long delays.

The bus company offered Janan a voucher for a free journey as compensation, but he hit out at the firm.

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He said: “Although I appreciate the offer of a single voucher as a good will gesture, it appears as an insult considering the four hours my daughter and I collectively wasted waiting for multiple buses which did not arrive.”

Janan claimed it was unclear why consecutive last-minute cancellations had taken place and that Arriva had not taken steps to prevent other students and members of the public experiencing the same issues going forwards.

He said: “Our afternoon was marred by the shockingly disappointing service provided by Arriva buses which resulted in two consecutive buses, from Henley to Marlow, being removed from the timetable, without explanation. This resulted in a two-hour delay to our return journey.”

After complaining to Arriva, Janan received an apology from the company’s customer services team. Arriva’s High Wycombe depot manager blamed cancellations on ‘operational difficulties’ at the depot. They said this would mainly be as a result of the depot not having a vehicle to run the route or suffering a last-minute staff absence.

Arriva’s customer services told Janan: “I can confirm that some services were unable to run on the day in question. I understand this did inconvenience some passengers but please be assured that this step was taken as a last resort.

“As a gesture of goodwill, I would like to offer you a free journey voucher and hope that we can be of service to you again soon.”

Janan, who lives in the Wycombe constituency, also wrote to his new MP Emma Reynolds about the issues, and complained about the problem to the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency.

The resident’s bus woes come as Arriva has now stopped operating a dozen services in Buckinghamshire, including the 800 and 850 route, as it shuts down its depots in High Wycombe and Aylesbury. From July 28, Carousel stepped in to provide replacement services.

Arriva and Carousel have been approached for comment.

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