Go North East announces skeleton service covering some major Sunderland bus routes - but move slammed by union

After several weeks of no Go North East buses for the general public, the company has announced it will be starting a skeleton service from today (Tuesday November 14).

The company has made the announcement after a number of drivers have chosen to return to work.

The announcement comes in the midst of 12 weeks of industrial action by drivers over pay, which is currently due to last until December 22.

A statement on the Go North East website said: "These driving duties are being covered by office workers and managers with bus driving licences, as well as regular drivers who have opted to return to work to keep essential services moving.

"These services may be subject to delay due to reduced frequencies in operation - please be kind to our team who are providing them.

"We apologise for the disruption during this time, and we remain committed to reaching a solution that will bring an end to the industrial action."

The decision to run the skeleton service has been taken following consultation with Nexus and local councils.

The limited service will run from "around" 9.30am until 2.30pm and covers a number of well used routes in Sunderland and County Durham.

Move slammed by Unite union

The move by Go North East to run a skeleton service has been criticised by Unite, the union to which the bus drivers belong.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This attempt by Go North East to run a skeleton service shows a company grasping at straws as it loses more sympathy with the public every day.

 “Asking office workers to operate bus services is at best unwise and at worst unsafe as the drivers will be utterly unused to undertaking the highly demanding responsibility of driving a crowded bus on congested roads. Unite also has concerns about the maintenance of the buses themselves given our engineer members are on strike.

 “Instead of playing games and scraping barrels, Go North East should come up with a reasonable new offer our members can accept and bring this dispute to an end.”

Skeleton service schedule

The skeleton service will run across parts of Sunderland and Wearside between "around" 9.30am and 2.30am. Check out the routes which are running from today (November 14).

- Service 20 between Sunderland and Durham will run every 30 minutes.

- Service 60 between Sunderland and Seaham will run every 60 minutes.

- Service 65 between Seaham and Hetton-le-Hole will run every 60 minutes.

- Service 84 between Concord and the Galleries in Washington will run every hour, Monday to Friday between 9.52am and 1.52pm.

- Service 85 between Concord and the Galleries in Washington will run every hour, Monday to Friday between 9.20am and 1.20pm.

- X62 between Peterlee and Durham is running to its normal service.

Specific details of stops and times on these routes can be found on the Go North East website.

Go North East has continued to run school bus services since the start of the industrial action.