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Arriva buses left disabled woman waiting for two hours for 71 service from Snodland to Maidstone

A woman is furious at a bus company after she was forced to pay £20 for a cab home when two buses failed to turn up.

Lisa Clarke was waiting for the number 71 bus from Snodland to Maidstone on Thursday after visiting a friend in Holborough.

Lisa Clarke from Ditton. Picture: Lisa Clarke
Lisa Clarke from Ditton. Picture: Lisa Clarke

She got to the stop on Higham Avenue at 4.20pm and was then left waiting more than two hours for a bus to take her home to Nursery Road in Ditton.

During that time two buses were meant to arrive - one at 4.39pm and another at 5.31pm.

In the end she called for a taxi to take her home as by 6.45pm there was still no sign of a bus and no explanation on the whereabouts of the missing two.

Lisa said: "I checked online but it didn't say the two buses were cancelled."

Lisa was left waiting for two hours for a bus to never arrive
Lisa was left waiting for two hours for a bus to never arrive

The 34-year-old is learning to drive but until then she relies on subsidised transport as she is in constant pain and uses a walking stick due to a number of back injuries and spinal conditions that have affected her since since she was 19.

She said: "I wake up sore and go to bed sore.

"My time is precious and with my disabilities I need as much of it as possible to do the things I need to do while suffering with pain.

"I was in so much pain that night that when I finally got home I wasn't able to do anything I had to do that day."

'Is it like the Bermuda Triangle for buses?'

And this isn't the first time Lisa has had trouble with the Arriva service.

She often takes the number 71 route at least twice a week both to visit a friend and her parents and says it isn't uncommon for the buses not to show up at all.

Lisa added: "I was in the Coop waiting one night and watched two drivers come down and never come back.

"Then another driver came round and this time did stop and when I got on I asked what had happened to the other two.

"The driver thought they had arrived but I told her they didn't. She said 'well is it like the Bermuda Triangle for buses?'

Arriva buses. Picture: Steve Crispe
Arriva buses. Picture: Steve Crispe

"In the end I just got on and sat down and didn't think much more about it but I think they just went down the bypass."

Lisa has even had issues when being on the route and trying to get home.

She continued: "I've had it a few times where I wasn't able to get off my bus because either the drivers didn't hear my bell or it had to take a sudden detour without telling the passengers.

"Those times I have had to walk back up the A20 home which left me in a lot of pain.

"I'm tired of just complaining to the company. Something needs to be done."

Arriva has been approached for a comment.

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