Hertfordshire Conservatives have blocked a meeting with bus companies over ongoing transport turmoil.

Despite the backing of all opposition councillors present, a motion in Hertfordshire County Council for an all-party meeting with five bus operators was blocked by the ruling Conservatives.

Liberal Democrat leader Stephen Giles-Medhurst proposed the motion at a meeting on December 20.

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He said: “It is shocking that the Conservatives are not willing to have an urgent meeting with operators to discuss the now daily problems raised by thousands of residents over cancelled buses, delays and changed routes that now isolate people.

“This was as non-political a motion as you can get.”

In the last full financial year (2021/22), the county council paid Arriva £948k to run some Herts services, compared to £746k, £583k and £274k respectively for the previous years.

It is one of several operators in the county alongside Uno, Sullivan Buses and Centrebus.

Watford Observer: Reports of bus cancellations have recently increased amid staff shortages.Reports of bus cancellations have recently increased amid staff shortages. (Image: Watford Borough Council)

Labour’s Asif Khan said: “I know bus services in Watford are simply not working for residents and this was an opportunity for councillors on behalf of residents to question bus operators as to why.

“It was irrational for the Conservatives not to back a meeting.”

The council's Tory leader Richard Roberts said the council is in daily contact with operators and a meeting between a council cabinet member and the operators is already planned for early in the new year.

“What we rarely do and certainly not in this case is invite all the political parties to harangue the bus companies,” he said.

“The motion fundamentally misses the point that there is already a cross-party scrutiny planned for the new year which is by far the best way for the state of bus services to be better understood.

Watford Observer: County Hall, Hertford, home of Hertfordshire County Council.County Hall, Hertford, home of Hertfordshire County Council. (Image: Jack Hill)

“The real challenge for bus companies like so many businesses in the private, public and voluntary sector is a real shortage of people, in this case bus drivers.”

Earlier this month Arriva said it was “genuinely sorry” for bus disruption amid claims it is “destroying people’s lives”.

It blamed industry-wide staff shortages and claimed a “highly targeted” recruitment drive and service changes should start to bring improvements from January.