Bus mayhem on first day of term

Stagecoach buses created chaos at the top of the Parade in Leamington Spa this morning.

For the first day back to university, many students missed their lectures due to a lack of transportation.

Warwick students expressed their discontentment towards Stagecoach buses, describing it as a “nightmare”.

According to reports, buses did not turn up in South Leamington while, in the North, they would either not stop or arrive four at once.

Michael Middleton, second-year Engineering student, stated: “Rush hour traffic in Leamington is consistently high and a company with the resources of Stagecoach should know how many extra buses are required at peak times to maintain punctuality.”

Such a situation is not new: last term, many U1 buses drove past the stops because they were packed.

Michael took his frustration further by writing a letter of complaint to the company, urging the Students Union to publicly shame Stagecoach.

He wrote: “I speak for several hundreds of students in Leamington who waited this morning for 50 minutes to catch the U1.”

George Muscatt, a second-year Biochesmistry student, commented: “There must have been 50 of us. After half an hour, a full bus drove past.

“I wasn’t expecting the first day back to university to be great, but I expected to make it to campus on time. But then again, we rely on Stagecoach. My mistake.”

Busy crowds at Tachbrook Road bus stop. Photo : Michael Middleton / Flickr

The marketing manager of Stagecoach Midlands argued that the situation got out of control, and insisted on the fact that the chaos was out of its hands.

He explained that a major road traffic accident on the M40 provoked congestion all over the place, and bus drivers thus suffered from it, arriving thirty to forty minutes late.

According to the Leamington Courier, a vehicle crash involving two cars, two vans and an HGV caused traffic tailbacks on the M40. The female van driver was sent to the hospital after severe pain in the chest.