D&G Buses bought by Arriva - owners blame subsidy cuts for sale

MORE than 160 bus drivers and mechanics have been assured their jobs are safe after transport giant Arriva bought part of a rival firm.

D&G Coach and Bus has sold its Staffordshire operation to Arriva Midlands for an undisclosed sum.

From August, the D&G name in Staffordshire will be replaced by Wardle, which was taken over by Arriva in December.

Wardle's current base in Burslem will be closed, with more than 100 workers transferred to D&G's site in Adderley Green.

D&G, which employs 62 members of staff in Staffordshire, runs 30 buses across 46 routes.

Arriva Midlands regional managing director Bob Hind said: "We will be able to consolidate both operations on to one site based at the current D&G premises.

"All staff will be transferred to Adderley Green. There will be no changes to staffing levels.

"We will be investing in the site, which will see the engineering facilities extended to cater for the expanding fleet. "We are looking forward to growing the business."

D&G today blamed the sale on Stoke-on-Trent City Council's bus subsidy cuts and reductions in concessionary fare payments to operators.

Its South Cheshire operations are unaffected by the deal.

D&G managing director David Reeves, who founded the company in 1998, said: "As a small bus operator our longer-term viability in Staffordshire and the Potteries was uncertain given the reductions.

"Arriva provides an opportunity to ensure the future of the excellent staff employed by the company."

Bus passengers have been reassured that D&G's routes and fares will not change.

But members of the North Staffordshire public transport users group ACES have raised concerns that another operator has left Stoke-on-Trent.

ACES spokesman Selwyn Brown said: "D&G provides lots of excellent services and has taken over routes which other operators decided were not profitable. Whether Arriva will do something about that, I don't know.

"We thought when Arriva took over Wardle there would be improvements, but we don't seem to have seen any change.

"Other firms have their management team locally, but Arriva has its in Leicester and that is a concern. I will wait to see what happens."

Passenger Louise Whitmore regularly uses D&G services from her home in Stoke to meet friends in Hanley.

The 28-year-old cleaner said: "I like D&G, but I don't really mind what firm runs it as long as the prices don't go up."