70-year-old woman left 'stranded and freezing' after Grant Palmer buses fail to arrive at Biggleswade stop

A woman claims she was left stranded and freezing after three Grant Palmer buses failed to show up in Biggleswade.

Zoe Lloyd, 70, was waiting at the Market Square bus stop with two friends on June 18 to catch the no.74 at 14:03, but claims that this and the next two buses failed to show up.

In the end, she and her friends gave up and caught a taxi home to Langford, while her neighbours, who were also at the stop, walked the half an hour journey home.

Grant Palmer says the no-show was down to a road closure for Biggleswade Carnival.

But Zoe claimed: “There was no information at the Town bus station, and customer services do not work at weekends. Their office was closed until Monday, but there was no information left on a voicemail.”

She said: "We were freezing. We'd had a really hot Friday but it was freezing on the Saturday, and we were frozen solid. We kept going into Greggs and buying hot drinks.

"They can't just leave people standing at the bus stop.

"My neighbours, a family of five, gave up and walked home. It was a good half an hour. If you are a good walker you can do it, but I can't. I have COPD and the other ladies with me were nearer their 80s."

Zoe claims that she and her friends waited for the 14:03 bus, which was then timetabled on the interactive board for 14:30, but it did not show up.

She told the Chronicle that the 15:30 and 16:30 were also no shows, so she decided to pay £10 for a taxi home, instead of using her free bus pass.

The next bus wasn't until 18:03, and would have meant the group had been waiting four hours.

However, although Zoe was later refunded by Grant Palmer, she claims: "This happens all the time, this is not just a one-off. They just drop the buses. When I ask the drivers they say we are short of drivers.

"They don't answer when I ring up, and on Saturdays there's no one there to answer the phone. I have to do everything – complaints – by email."

A Grant Palmer spokeswoman said: “As we have advised Ms Lloyd, our service was forced to take a diversion on Saturday 18th June 2022 due London Road being closed due to Biggleswade Carnival.”