Arriva > Reviews (37)

I live in Surrey and have been using the local bus service for years!! For over 6 years anyway! The bus company is called Arriva.

My journey into town takes about 15 mins by bus. Why dont I walk, you say? I walk it sometimes in the summer and it takes about 40mins, I know it doesn't sound very long but it is after you've worked 9am - 6pm, you just want to get home!

Anyway, there are 2 buses which run in my area, 1 goes the long way round the estate then into Guildford and the other one goes straight into the town.

The buses run from my area every 20mins, so its quite regular which is good, how-ever after 6pm, they seem to run every 30mins, then after 7pm, 1 bus every hour.

Sundays are quite awkward for me, as I have to be at work for 11am, so i have to get a bus which gets me into town about 10:10, so Im waiting round town for at least 40mins! Also buses going back to my estate from Guildford on a sunday aren't very suitable as I finish at 5pm, but there isn't a bus until 1 hour later!

For a 15mins bus journey i think the prices are ridiculous. For a return (to town and back again), its £3.00 for an adult and for a single, just into town its £1.90 for an adult! When I first started work a return was £2.40 for an adult fair. Single was probably about £1.10! For a montly ticket now, its £80.00, which saves you money every month if you buy a monthly ticket rather than paying the £3.00 fair everyday!

The buses in my area, aren't very reliable! They have an electronic board at each bus stop, telling you when the next bus is due and it also displays the time. This would prove helpful, if the buses which were diaplyed on the boards were kept on there until the bus arrived!

I was at the bus top the other day waiting to get into town for an interview. I had to be there by 6pm and I went to the bus stop just after 5pm, to catch the 5:04 bus! It said there was a bus due in 10mins. 30mins later I was still at the bus stop, there was no sign on the electronic board to say it was cancelled/running late!

I had to get a lift into town in the end, as I was still at the bus stop at 5:45pm!

Some of the drivers on the buses are cheery, polite and very nice. Other's are really grumpy and tend to take things out on you if you haven't got the right money! 1 driver refuses people on if they're using a £5.00 note to pay!

A lot of the drivers also let drunks on the bus with alcohol which I think is also wrong! I remember 1 time I was coming home from work and there was a drunk man on the bus shouting abuse and swearing at everyone, but the driver didn't make him get off or anything!

The buses are normally very clean and I hardly ever see any chewing gum stuck to seats or the floors, I very rarely see any litter either.

Overall service?
Pricey and I definately wouldn't rely on the buses getting to you on time, espicially at rush hour time and when it rains/snows that always seems to make the buses late or not even run!

I know a lot of people dont have any other modes of transport but if you have to get somewhere for a specific time I suggest you get your bus at a reasonable time.

I also think the electronic boards aren't very helpful as it doesn't inform you if buses are running late or have been cancelled.