Express & Star

Bus chaos is driving us round the bend, so we're filming it!

Published
Last updated

Bus chaos in a quiet Black Country street has been caught on camera by a fed-up resident.

more

Bus drivers are filmed reversing on to residents' drives, narrowly avoiding cars and using the entire pavement to manoeuvre out of trouble in Cupfields Avenue, Tipton

Jane Harris was waiting for two single-deck buses to clear after they got stuck on a tight corner in her street and decided to film the mayhem that ensued. Three more buses join the congestion during the five-minute footage posted on YouTube on May 23.

[video]

And it is not the first time there has been problems at the spot. Over the last three years, Ms Harris, 43, said a wall in front of her house has been knocked down by buses and other vehicles passing by – and now she wants the issue fixed before it is rebuilt.

A transport supervisor at Aston Manor Brewery, she said: "About ten years ago we used to just have National Express on there and they used to run a service every 30 minutes and you didn't get the disruption.

"But now it's every 10 minutes and we have got two separate companies on there now.

"It has been ongoing with National Express, the highways and the councillors for the last three years, probably longer.

"In 2009 I complained to the [Sandwell Council] highways [department] and they managed to put [two] bollards up."

Ms Harris said a third on the pavement in front of her house would help any further damage by the route.

Cupfields Avenue is currently used by National Express and Diamond Bus services on the 42 and 43 routes, travelling from West Bromwich to Tipton and Bilston, respectively.

She said it was clear too many buses use that route and added: "The problem I have got is the bus mounting the kerb. The whole street is fed up of the buses."

Another video filmed from Ms Harris' house in January shows two double-deck National Express buses squeezed into a tight gap before one of their drivers is forced to reverse back to allow a car through.

[youtube][/youtube]

Jane Harris with her garden wall which has been damaged

Eventually the buses pass together but are only able to get through by driving on both pavements. Great Bridge councillor Joanne Hadley held a meeting with the bus companies over a year ago asking for buses to be diverted away from Cupfields Avenue but they told her that would not be possible.

Councillor Hadley said she would ask for Sandwell Council to look again at installing a third bollard on the road and said: "It is such a tight road I don't know why the buses go down there at all."

The driver gets out to assess the sticky situation

Ms Harris said she had contacted the Traffic Commissioner in Birmingham but had been told to put her video onto a disc so they could investigate further.

Another video, which has been viewed more than 2,000 times since it was filmed by Ms Harris in February, shows a 42 National Express bus reversing after coming to a standstill in a showdown between another travelling the other way.

[youtube][/youtube]

A taxi attempts to pass through after one of the buses has reversed – before its driver realises their vehicle cannot make it through the tight gap. They are eventually forced to reverse back and let one of the buses through. Throughout the delay passengers are sat on both buses.

Later another Diamond Bus passes around the corner – leaving another coming the other way, further down Cupfields Avenue, to wait for them to pass before that one can attempt travelling round the awkward bend.

Diamond runs services around the Black Country and in West Bromwich, Walsall, Stourbridge and Halesowen.

Sandwell Council, Diamond Bus and National Express were unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.