New licence data reveals 'steadily declining' Watford bus service

Watford’s streets are seeing fewer licenced buses as the county council acknowledges a “steadily declining” service.

New government figures show that a record low number of buses and coaches are using Watford roads.

At the end of 2023 78 buses and coaches were licenced in the town, according to a Department for Transport report published last week.

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This was down from 81 the year before and represented a significant fall of 64 per cent since 2014.

Meanwhile, there were 1,702 buses and coaches licenced across all of Hertfordshire at the end of last year.

This was down from 1,747 the year before, again representing a fall (of 24 per cent) since 2014.

For both areas the latest figures represented the lowest they had been for any year in the past decade.

Arriva bus in Watford.

Silviya Barrett, from the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Schemes such as the £2 bus fare cap have helped to boost bus passenger numbers, but they are no substitute for long-term funding, and these figures show we still have a way to go to halt the vicious cycle of bus cuts.”

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council admitted that bus mileage in Hertfordshire “has been steadily declining for a decade, as it has across the country”.

However, they highlighted that it had been fairly steady between 2017 and 2020 before falling by about a third at the start of lockdown.

“This is a turbulent time for the bus industry, with a sharp decline in passengers during the pandemic, and a wider driver and skills shortage,” the spokesperson added.

321 bus in Watford. (Image: Arriva)

“We are working with local bus operators through the Intalink Enhanced Partnership - the first such partnership in the country - to maintain as much of the bus network as possible in the face of these challenges.

“The county council last year secured £29.7m from the government for our Bus Service Improvement Plan to improve the bus network in Hertfordshire.

“We are currently working on a range of projects to improve bus service frequencies, expand the HertLynx demand responsive transport service, introduce reduced fare initiatives, improve highways infrastructure for bus travel, and deliver better information for passengers.”