Airport Late-Night Transport

Liverpool John Lennon Airport is a friendly place, a welcome back home to those who rely on it without the need of travelling into Manchester... But while on the topic of the airport I want people to consider those working there. Public transport finishes after midnight and leads to workers having to make their own way into work or own way back home.

There are many people who work at the airport who don't/can't drive and as such have to walk it in or get a taxi. We all know how expensive taxis can be from an airport because they add extra fees on top, and nobody wants to be walking into or out of work down unlit street without any regard for their safety. Some people have to rely on getting a lift into work by a friend and/or colleague or family member but this isn't a viable option for some of us. From experience I highly recommend avoiding walking down Aigburth Road and Garston Village after midnight because it becomes a ghost town, and no cars in sight... You never know who might be following you and get VERY paranoid when it's just you and one other person following each other down the same long pathway.

My job used to require me to work between the hours of 8pm and finish at 7:30am, which allowed me to get the bus into work, do the shift which mainly consisted of handling the night arrivals and departures... And then dealing with the morning rush between 3am and 6:20am. This was a shift pattern I was used to and I enjoyed because I like a routine and it kept me in a fast-paced environment with a challenge most days especially during the Summer. It kept me on my feet and active.

Come September of last year they changed my shift to require me starting at 2:45am and 3am... Again, transport finishes at midnight so no trains, no buses, only overpriced taxis or walking it. Myself being, well, me... I decided to walk it from my house by Sefton Park at midnight every morning all the way to the airport which I timed and took approximately 2 hours and 17 minutes each day, arriving me into work just before my shift was due to start. There would also be days where I would finish around 1:15am... Again when no transport is available.

I had to leave this job in December of last year because it was taking a huge toll on my mental health. I reached out to the union and they said nothing could be done because it was part of the contract to make my own way in, so then I reached out to the council about access to work, and received a response saying it would take around 4-6 months for someone to look into my claim. In the end I threw in the towel, it was getting too much and I was barely able to get any sleep because of the 2 hour walk into work and back home.

We need an overnight service. The 500 and 86A used to be overnight but Arriva (the company that operated the buses at the time) decided to remove the overnight services due to a lack of use and losing money. Their focus wasn't on getting people home safe, it was greed.

I ask that those in Speke that work in Speke, live in Speke, or pretty much anywhere around Liverpool in general reach out to your local MP and try to help those who may be struggling to get to work, require companies to help those in need if they are working unreasonable shifts, make them reimburse transport for those who may not be able to drive and actually help people get into work.