Arriva Bus (UK) Reviews 

Rude for me not holding my card fro 10 second

They were just utterly rude and grabbed my card

Worst bus service in the world and they need shutting down, absolute garbage.
I live in Darlington and buses used to be every ten minutes and now it’s every thirty minutes,

W7 BUS
did'nt know the bus stop is closed when i normally get off near tesco in crouch end area.

quickly asked to kindly open the door i pressed the bell but she dident and got annoyed when i asked her eventually let me out the front.
i didnet know the bus stop was closed 2 theres no need to be rude when i asked and dident open the back door
female bus driver-w7

Driver ignor me. He just drives. I m going late my work. I wait couple minutes and I did two times waves he ignored and go. Just passing me 2.01 pm. This is not acceptable. Location Smithdown road and magdala road. Stop 41081b.bus was empty.

They have completely changed bus routes so I can no longer get on at my original, reliable stop. I've missed two important appointments and 3 busses have just drove past me not even acknowledging me. I have been sat at the bus stop for almost 2 hours now. This is absolutely ridiculous.

I’ve just dropped my elderly mum at Victoria coach station for the 757 at 12.54. I’ve got to say, the driver couldn’t have been more considerate of her needs and I wish I’d got his name. I feel better putting her on a coach where she is seen, than on a train where she has to fend for herself. Today’s driver left me feeling reassured. Thank you.

Absolute shocking Ware garage let's three cancelled 310 buses when I did get on one from Hoddesdon the bus was completely heavenly packed and it was only a single when I asked another driver he says these days you just take whatever bus available that is bad they're need to line up every single bus for the 310 to be double deckers and put the correct buses on the right bus route 251 & 66 should be single bus 331 being single and put the double deckers on the 310 where they're need them the most they should have turned one or two of them in Hoddesdon someone said old people would complain if they did that yeah regulating the service TFL do that all the time plus half of them don't even come up on the application because of the ticket machine are only 4G in some of the new buses have got technical glitches why did they're fix the glitches before sending the 2016 buses to other places makes no sense new we got buses that do not have the right information inside them who every is the manager for where garage and Harlow should be ashamed plus they need to refill the air conditioning inside all of the buses and get them working this is an absolute joke now you tell us there's a new technical issue with buses at ware garage yet again so why didn't you send 310 as far as Hoddesdon get people to use other local bus services to them from Hertford to help the service out if there was problems then things should have been fixed instead of making it worse

The drivers are fine,the buses too but a recent horrible innovation is the announcement EVERY time the stop button is pressed ( very loudly & so extremely annoying) of the instruction to " stay seated etc".I cannot see how the drivers can stand it & I travel by bus for work & most other things .I hear it stop after stop.It seems it is a legal thing to cover the backs of the company in case someone has a fall.It is TOO loud and if needed ought to be perhaps a reminder,played a few times during the journey.Whoever came up with it should be forced to hear it,hour after hour for an entire day.
It is not the same as the area announcements ,telling people what the next stop is which I recognise as very useful to travellers of all sorts.

It happened for me today at the 96 that goes to bluewater. I get on the bus @6.22 am from Welling high street and reach about 7.15 @Darent valley hospital. I’m now late for my work resulting in my pays. This is always like this. I have to get by 6 am which will take around 45 minutes to reach the mentioned hospital. Waste of time and money. Please if you can arrange these things help the public.

Rude bus driver 413138 we are just kids and he’s shouting at us Becuase we went on the bus too early

I would have given zero stars if that was possible. My experience with arriva service in Birmingham has been awful. I used bus 110 towards hospital for medical appointment with my elderly mother who is a wheelchair user in March 2026. Once the bus stopped at the bus stop I asked a driver to open a wheelchair ramp to get on board. An Asian driver waved his hand in declining way. I asked again if he was not going to open the ramp for her to board. He said to just enter. I struggled from the pavement to lift up a wheelchair with her onto the bus. At the last stop he declined again and I had to get her out on a wheelchair with no assistance at all. I nearly dropped the wheelchair as he parked it diagonally away from the pavement. Someone said '' oh careful'', yet he did not do anything. I took photos submitted a complaint to Arriva- no follow up after their supposed ''investigation''. This is disgusting of the driver to deny basic equality right for a disabled 82 year old passenger and of the company as well. This is the first time I experienced such low standard and uncultured behaviour of a driver as well as from this national organisation. Shame! The overall level of public transport companies and drivers in Birmingham falls into depression level. I have not received a formal apology for my mother or myself since. The bus ticket process have been increased by those companies while all what passengers with ticket experience is smoking, vaping or this kind of offences while on board while you pay for backboneless addicts to travel free at the cost of your increased bus ticket prices and total ignorance for such junkie attitudes from the drivers. Having recently moved from the South UK I can’t believe Birmingham is a part of the UK instead of third world countries! Over there a bus driver wouldn’t even move until a person without a ticket would leave the bus.

I wish I could give a negative score. Omg they're crap. I'm sick of them. Been at the bus stop in town since 6pm. Double decker parked there. No driver. Sat for half hour out of service. Some hot on and it buggered off out of service. Another half hour wait🤬🤬. They are absolutely crap. Been late to work every day this week because they are so bad. My date of experience is every bloody day. I'm trying to attach photos but there's no option.

Absolutely awful service in Shropshire, where I live .... Sometimes buses don't show up in Shrewsbury, they miss out timetables and no buses turns up ... Some of the drivers are rude and disrespectful...

I've genuinely had more buses cancelled last minute than actually gotten rides. The app is also terrible. I have been late to important events countless times because of early arrival of buses, or just the bus not showing up at all, despite saying it was going to on the app.

Very disappointing experience with Arriva.

I purchased a ticket from Arriva that was supposed to allow me to use both the bus and the Metro. However, the ticket simply did not work on the Metro during the first week.

I had no choice but to renew it for a second week because I need public transport, meaning I have now paid £56 for a service that I have not been able to use properly.

I called the number on the back of the ticket and was told to contact the Metro team. When I contacted them, they told me to contact Arriva. So I am being sent back and forth between the two companies, while I am the one who has paid for the service.

If I don’t pay, I can’t travel. If I do pay, the ticket doesn’t work. This is extremely frustrating.

I would simply like Arriva to take responsibility and refund the £56 I have paid for a ticket that did not work as advertised.

I hope this can be resolved amicably.

First time using the bus since the last time a few months ago. Looks like things haven't improved in my area.
We wanted to leave from Bedlington to go to Morpeth yesterday, bus timetable stated 12:05 arrived at the stop 11:55. Bus never arrived, next one 12:35, finally arrived at 12:45, busy though so a struggle for seats. Unfortunately, the bus stop is next to a bin, which with a slight breeze wasn't very nice, bin full of doggy bags. Bad luck again?

Arriva North East, in general, are rubbish. Ageing buses, poor staff retention, drivers that don't acknowledge you, delayed buses, cancelled buses, 'ghost' buses. They are above the law, no-one appears to regulate them. A company that cannot, under most circumstances, be relied on. 2 out of 5 at best, but generally 1 !!! Tonight, a very late bus, with 2 out of 4 solid windows downstairs replacing openable windows. In a heatwave ... wow !

Interesting this company replied to say that all complaints must be sent through the correct routes. This, I do every time, and never get a satisfactory response ... another negative is their customer service !

This company treating passengers and drivers as if they were pigs or slaves from Victorian era, forcing them to work in extremely hot environments. Drivers suffering strokes while driving because this company refuse to install air-conditioning in buses. Which puts passengers in danger. I am not sure how they get their sleep knowing they treat people like pigs, but SHAME ON THEM. Government should force to do something with this extremely selfish, greedy company. SHAME ON YOU.

Arriva’s “full investigation” failed to address my actual concerns

I made a formal complaint to Arriva following an incident on the 127 service between Loughborough and Shepshed on 5 August 2026.

My complaint was not simply about one ticket machine showing the wrong fare on one occasion. My concern is that I have experienced fare and ticketing problems on this route repeatedly.

I specifically ask for a point-to-point ticket because my journey costs less than the £3 single-fare cap. If I ask for a ticket costing £2.70, I expect the ticket machine to display £2.70 before I present my bank card.

On 5 August, I asked for my usual journey. The driver told me it was £3.00. I told him that I travel on this service regularly and that the fare is £2.70. He maintained that the machine showed £3.00. Eventually the fare stage was manually changed and I received a ticket for £2.70, confirming the lower fare.

The driver’s response then became part of my complaint. He told me he had worked on the route for ten years, and after I had taken my seat he shouted down the bus that I should not tell him how to do his job.

I supplied Arriva with detailed information including the time, route, vehicle number, driver ID, machine number, trip ID and ticket number, and specifically requested that CCTV/audio be reviewed.

Arriva subsequently told me that the depot manager had completed a “full investigation.” They said the Electronic Ticket Machine had lost signal and had therefore failed to change fare stages automatically. According to their response, the driver realised this during our conversation and manually changed the fare stage.

I accept that an electronic machine can lose signal. What concerns me is that this does not feel like an isolated problem from my experience of using this route.

I have encountered occasions where the machine is blank or showing £3.00 when I am asking for a cheaper point-to-point ticket. My question to Arriva was simple: if I ask for a £2.70 ticket, why am I not shown £2.70 before I put my bank card on the machine?

That matters because a passenger who does not already know the correct point-to-point fare may simply pay the £3.00 displayed or requested and never realise that their journey should have cost less.

I have previously experienced repeated fare discrepancies until another Arriva driver pointed out that I was being charged too much. That experience is precisely why I now check what I am being charged.

I have also had a separate incident where, after paying, a driver did not hand me a paper ticket. When I asked for it, I was told that I “hadn’t asked for a ticket.” My response was: “What am I paying for? Can I have my ticket?” I was then given it.

Arriva’s response explained that presenting a bank card before a driver selects a ticket can be treated as a TOTO contactless payment, where no ticket or fare value is displayed. That explanation still does not answer my concern. I am deliberately asking the driver for a specific point-to-point ticket. I want to see the fare selected before I pay.

Their response also failed to tell me whether the CCTV/audio I specifically requested was actually reviewed, and it did not address the driver’s conduct after I had taken my seat.

So when Arriva tells me that a “full investigation” has been completed, I am left questioning what exactly was investigated.

I am not claiming that every incorrect fare is deliberate. Machines can malfunction and drivers can make mistakes. My concern is what happens to passengers when these mistakes repeatedly result in the higher £3.00 fare being presented instead of the lower point-to-point fare.

Passengers should not need to already know the correct fare in order to avoid potentially paying too much.

If I ask for a £2.70 ticket, show me £2.70 before taking my payment. Give me my ticket after I pay. And if I make a formal complaint about a driver’s conduct and specifically request CCTV/audio to be reviewed, address that part of the complaint rather than calling it a “full investigation” and ignoring it.

That is basic fare transparency and customer service.