16 September 2026
Luke Myer MP has joined local leaders in demanding urgent action over cancelled and unreliable Arriva buses across Redcar and Cleveland.
Luke, Redcar MP Anna Turley, council leader Alec Brown and transport lead Cllr Carl Quartermain have written jointly to the Traffic Commissioner following a surge in complaints since the closure and consolidation of Arriva’s Redcar depot.
Residents have reported buses failing to turn up, severe delays and last-minute cancellations, with people struggling to get to work, hospital appointments, school and college. The group has asked the Traffic Commissioner to formally investigate Arriva’s reliability and consider a public inquiry into the company’s performance.
Luke says the problems also strengthen his long-running call for the Tees Valley Mayor to bring the bus network under public control, so decisions about routes, frequencies and standards are made around passengers and communities rather than operators’ commercial priorities.
The Labour Government has expanded the powers available to local transport authorities to franchise bus services, while the Bus Services Act 2025, which Luke helped to develop in Parliament, also removed the ban on councils setting up their own bus companies.
Mayors in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, the rest of the North East, and the West Midlands are all seeking to bring buses under public control, while in the Liverpool City Region and in Greater Manchester buses have already been brought into public hands. The Greater Manchester Bee Network bus system has more passengers, better punctuality and higher passenger satisfaction than the previous system. The Tees Valley is falling behind.
Luke has had some success at getting routes changed locally – including the new Stagecoach 1&2 which will start running down Brotton High Street later this month. But he believes residents shouldn’t have to fight for tweaks when the whole system needs change.
Luke Myer MP said:
“People have to be able to rely on their bus turning up. When buses are cancelled, it can mean a missed shift, a missed hospital appointment or a young person arriving late for college. That is why we have taken these failures directly to the Traffic Commissioner and asked for action.
“But this is also exactly why we have been arguing for our buses to come back under public control. The Mayor has the opportunity join other Mayors around the country in building a network around what passengers and communities need, rather than leaving those decisions to private operators.
“I will keep fighting for better, more reliable public transport right across East Cleveland and South Middlesbrough.”