Important customer information – short notice journey cancellations

Due to a national driver shortage, reflecting labour shortages now being seen in many sectors across the country as well as most regional bus operators, and a short-term increase in sickness absence, we are having to make some on the day cancellations to journeys on some routes across the Go North East network.

Details of the affected routes and journeys are being shared daily, in advance, on our website, on social media and through our smartphone app which also includes live bus tracking. A list of likely cancellations is being published each evening for the following day ahead to help people better plan their journeys. Paper copies of this list are also being shared with colleagues at depots each morning so they can help advise customers, and are also being posted in key bus stations and interchanges. 

This is a short-term problem affecting just over 2% of our 8,000 journeys that we operate each day. We are making all reasonable efforts to cover the journeys, even as the day progresses and to communicate this.

We are actively recruiting more colleagues through our training school and are also now working on some more stable emergency timetables which will come into operation on the worst affected routes over the coming weeks. Further details will be published when finalised.  

Efforts are being made to avoid the cancellation of any consecutive journeys, or the first or last buses of the day, and the majority of buses are still operating without any issues. It is important that any frustrations are not taken out on the colleagues who are at work and doing their best to provide as good a service possible – it is not their fault.

Details of the journeys that could be affected each day is available on the service updates section of our website – www.gonortheast.co.uk/service-updates – and mobile app and is updated regularly throughout the day.