Norwich man misses theatre show after buses fail to turn up

Gary Hatt, 61, from Costessey, said he was waiting with his mother Vera Thorndike, 85, at the Longwater Lane bus stop hoping to catch the 23A First Bus service into the city to see the Ocean At The End Of The Lane at the Theatre Royal.

Mr Hatt said the pair had been aiming to catch the 12.21pm service, but this was cancelled due to a mechanical fault.

Mr Hatt has slammed First Bus for regularly not turning up at his local stop (Image: Newsquest)

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He added that they believed a second 1.21pm service was following behind it but then learned this had been scrapped due to heavy traffic.

Mr Hatt said that this led to him calling Traveline - a service set up to help people navigate public transport – who he claims told him there would be a 1.37pm service arriving on the opposite side of the road which would get him to the theatre on time.

But he said that this was also cancelled with no reason given.

Mr Hatt says the journey usually takes less than 30 minutes and added that he did not get a taxi as he was being reassured a bus was coming until it was too late.

Gary Hatt and his mother Vera Thorndike (Image: Gary Hatt)

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The pair missed their 2.30pm show and as it was not a sell-out the Theatre Royal was not able to issue a refund of their £42.50 admission price and despite talks with First Bus, Mr Hatt has not received any compensation from the bus company.

A spokeswoman from First Bus Norwich said that the company was investigating the incident and will respond to Mr Hatt once it has been completed.

Mr Hatt said: "We waited three hours for a bus, it's ridiculous round here this is a regular occurrence.

"We were really looking forward to enjoying the performance and then this happens, and we've got loads more to come so I hope this doesn't happen again.

"Sometimes we have no buses turning up at all, other times we have two coming together without warning and creating a massive gap in the service.

"First Bus Norwich must dramatically improve this service, as I’m partially sighted and unable to drive, I rely on this bus.

"If this carries on people will become very isolated and lonely, my companion bus pass is basically useless if the buses don't turn up."

A spokeswoman from First Bus Norwich said it was investigating the incident.

She said: “We are very sorry to hear that Mr Hatt and his mother missed the theatre performance on Saturday, September 9.

“We have launched an investigation into the operations of Service 23A on the day in question and will respond to Mr Hatt once we have completed that investigation.

“Delivering a good service to our customers is our number one priority.”