Walker to take on 125 miles of Arriva bus routes in aid of food bank charity
A man nicknamed the 'Bus Walker' is gearing up for a mammoth challenge to walk more than 125 miles of Arriva's bus routes.
Neil Atherton, from Widnes in Cheshire, works as a MyDrive lead for Arriva, and trains bus drivers in Arriva's technical systems.
He has worked for the company for 23 years and has been nicknamed the 'Bus Walker' for his unique charity walks, travelling 260 miles of Merseyside’s bus routes in 2021 and 2022.
Neil is putting his walking boots back on in July to walk Arriva bus routes from north to south across seven UK regions – starting in Durham and ending in London.
The challenge will take him seven days to complete and the money raised will go towards The Trussell Trust, which supports a nationwide network of foodbanks.
The 44-year-old said: “In my job, I speak to people who are struggling to make ends meet and I know many of them rely on food banks to feed themselves and their families.
“I’m determined to do my little part to make sure people have the food they need.
“Hopefully, by walking some of the UK’s most popular bus routes and raising awareness of the scale of poverty face by millions of families, I can encourage those with a little more to give a thought to those with a little less.”
Neil will be walking the following routes:
Sunday, July 9: the 12X route from Durham to Newcastle-upon-Tyne – 16 miles
Monday, July 10: the 110 route from Wakefield to Leeds – 12 miles
Tuesday, July 11: the 82A route from Runcorn to Liverpool – 28 miles
Wednesday, July 12: the 5 route from Wrexham to Llangollen – 14 miles
Thursday, July 13: the 1 route from Telford to Sutton Hill – 16 miles
Friday, July 14: the 302 route from Hemel Hempstead to Welwyn Garden City – 20 miles
Saturday, July 15: the 29 route from Wood Green to Trafalgar Square – 11 miles
During that week, Neil will have clocked up an impressive 126 miles
Cora Woodhouse, customer services director for Arriva said: “We are all really proud of Neil and everything he’s achieved so far.
“He’s a shining example of living our core values at Arriva, which are caring passionately about the people we serve, doing the right thing and finding ways to make a difference.
“We’re all wishing him the very best of luck with his next bus route walk and we hope he can raise even more money for charity.”
To stay up to date with Neil's challenge, follow @TheBuswalker on Twitter.
To make a donation to the fundraiser, visit justgiving.com/page/buswalker-the-lastride.
