A REDDITCH factory worker has slammed Diamond Bus as huge delays are causing him to lose vital wages.

Brian Behan was a regular bus user and caught the number 11 then the number 57/58 to his job in a spring factory.

However, now the 62-year-old has decided to walk 45 minutes to his workplace to avoid losing any more of his wages.

Brian said in the last two weeks he has been late for work six times due to bus delays, meaning he has lost out on six hours of pay.

He said: “I have stopped getting the bus, I walk now instead, but if it’s raining, I am going to have to catch the bus again.

“Especially with the cost-of-living crisis, people can’t afford to lose money from work.

“Three or four of us at work catch public transport and obviously the bosses are not happy, but they understand it is not our fault.”

Brian added: “Sometimes the buses don’t turn up.

“They are constantly breaking down and the drivers do not know what they are doing and where they are going.

“I was stood at the bus stop for 45 minutes the other day and the bus just drove past me.”

Brian said after 9:15 pm the 58 does not run meaning he struggles to get home.

“Redditch is an industrial town, and a lot of people do hourly shift work so why does the bus stop after 9 pm, it doesn’t make sense,” said Brian.

A spokesperson for Diamond Bus confirmed the operator is struggling with operational costs combined with reduced passengers.

Cllr Mike Rouse, Worcestershire County Council Cabinet member for highways and transport has recently given up his car and is using the bus service in Redditch.

He said his experience so far has been smooth but has spotted issues that he has fed back to the operator.

Cllr Rouse said: “There is always a risk of delays on buses, but we need to get better at communicating that to the users e.g. if there is going to be a delay, how long the delay is, and where the bus is.

“We can do that by electronic signage and improving the flow of information.

“We need funding to make this happen and we didn’t get the government bus funding for Worcestershire, so we need to look at other ways to get funding.”