Politics
The night bus that never came
Three months of cancelled late services, and the operator still calls it a staffing blip.
The last bus out of the depot on a Friday is supposed to leave at 00:41. For eleven of the last thirteen Fridays, it has not left at all.
What the data shows The operator publishes cancellations as a monthly percentage. Pulled apart by hour, the picture changes: services after midnight are cancelled at nine times the rate of the morning peak.
"We are told it is a staffing blip. A blip does not last a quarter."
Drivers describe a rota that depends on overtime nobody wants to take. Two of them, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to talk to the press, said the late shift has been running two drivers short since the spring.
Who is left waiting - Hospital staff finishing the evening shift - Hospitality workers with no night tariff on the taxi rank - Students on the far side of the ring road
The council says it is "monitoring performance closely". The contract allows a penalty of up to four percent of the annual subsidy. It has never been applied.