“Our day runs to the time of the bus,” said Samantha, who rides the S1 between south-east St Albans and the city centre every day.

“If the bus is late, or it doesn’t come at all, that’s a problem because it means I can’t get to work on time.

“The bus only comes once every 40-odd minutes, so if I can’t catch it for whatever reason, I’ve got a long wait before I can get into the city centre or go home from work.”

The Red Eagle S1 is one of 125 commercial bus routes which criss-cross Hertfordshire between Rickmansworth and Royston, Stanstead Abbotts and Tring.

These routes are run by 32 different companies which each sell their own tickets, calling at Hertfordshire County Council’s Intalink-branded stops along their way.

“Of course I’ve got a lot of opinions on the buses in St Albans,” Samantha continued.

“They’ve got the electric screens which could show when the next bus is coming, but most of them only say when they’re meant to come.

“It’s quicker for me to get into central London than the city centre sometimes.”

Britain’s bus network has made national headlines during and after the Covid-19 lockdowns.

In March 2021, former prime minister Boris Johnson and then-transport secretary Grant Shapps pledged the country would “Bus Back Better” after the pandemic, highlighting that buses in England made 4.07 billion journeys in 2019/20 – more than twice as many journeys as trains.

According to the Department for Transport, the Westminster government has pledged £2billion for road transport since March 2020.

Hertfordshire is due to get a slice of the funding next month (November 2022), with £13.2million set to arrive in the county for new schemes, and £16.5m to support the day-to-day running of an improved service.

The county’s passengers have a long list of complaints.

‘I have to book an Uber because Arriva app doesn’t work’

Callum, in his 20s, was waiting for his bus home from work at the Stevenage Interchange, which opened in June this year after a £9.6m investment from Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

He uses an app by Arriva – which controls 22 per cent of the bus market share in Hertfordshire – to check the bus times.

“It doesn’t work,” Callum said.

“On the Arriva app, it appears as though the bus is coming but often, it doesn’t turn up.

“Twice over the past seven days, I have had to quickly book an Uber or taxi to get to work because the bus hasn’t arrived.

“That’s obviously very expensive, much more than the bus costs.”

He urged Arriva and the council to improve the accuracy of apps and digital screens to allow for better journey planning. Arriva has been approached for comment.

Back in St Albans, June uses an older person’s bus pass to travel between the city and her home near Radlett.

June said: “We like to get the bus into St Albans.

“The problem is that where we live, the buses stop around 7.30pm, with very few services on Sunday.

“We muddle through but imagine if you are, for example, an older person who cannot drive – I imagine those timings are quite limiting.”

Over the Greater London boundary in Barnet, Krista said she wants to be able to catch the bus into Hertfordshire.

There was a service – Metroline 84 – which connected Barnet and its London transport connections with Potters Bar, London Colney and St Albans.

Metroline stepped back from running the service on April 1 this year, and Sullivan Buses took over the route between Potters Bar and St Albans – but not the five-mile southern section to New Barnet railway station.

Krista said: “We’d like to come into Potters Bar and St Albans a bit more, but it’s just too difficult now the two towns are not connected by the 84 which used to run into New Barnet (although I’d settle for High Barnet tube station).

“Shopping somewhere different would be nice and access to Potters Bar Hospital would be much easier.

“I know that works in reverse for Potters Bar residents who need access to Barnet Hospital and shops.

“I’m sure there are some workers and schoolkids who would be mightily relieved, too.”

On the loss of the 84, Susan said: “Alternative journeys are taking too long.

“Transport for London and Hertfordshire County Council have failed the Potters Bar and Barnet communities by removing this section of the 84 routes and making hospital visits, school commutes and social or shopping trips impossible in some instances.”

County council members are set to hear about the government’s £29.7m boost into Hertfordshire’s buses on Tuesday, November 1.

Expansion of bus stop real-time information

A report into the project – called a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) – notes several proposed changes to the network.

It reads: “Hertfordshire County Council will expand the estate of at-stop real-time information (RTI) display screens.

“RTI screens provide more accurate ‘real-time’ information on bus departures, thereby giving waiting passengers more confidence in when their bus is due, which in turn will give a greater confidence in the service overall, making bus service a more attractive option.

“The BSIP provides for 30 screens to be delivered in 2022/23 and the same for 2023/24, increasing our overall coverage from 300 to 360 units.”

The report adds that the “central hook” for the BSIP is to invest in corridors to “create the spark for growth and high-frequency ‘turn-up-and-go’ services”.

This involves investment into a “core network” between Hertford, Stevenage, St Albans, Hemel Hempstead and Watford, then the creation a “secondary-plus” network which fits into the core, then a secondary network to provide “important but lower frequency connections”.

“Coordination of service on some well bussed corridors (for example, St Albans to Hatfield) is recommended as for little additional cost a more compelling offer can be created for the passenger market,” the report notes.

The plan will also consider new bus lanes and a new ticketing system to create discounts to regular bus travellers of all ages.

The ticketing system proposed include a new Oyster card-style pre-payment card, as well as a 15 per cent reduction on multi-brand tickets, including the £9 Intalink Explorer one-day adult pass.

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