Go North East gears up to boost bus capacity during Metro strike

Go North East, the region’s largest bus company, is gearing up to boost capacity on its services on the days of the Tyne and Wear Metro strike.

Metro are expected to run no trains on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 December as a result of industrial action. The Friday is typically one of the busiest nights of the year with Christmas parties and nights out, and the following day Newcastle United take on Crystal Palace at St James’ Park.

All Go North East buses will be running as normal when the Metro is on strike with most services near Metro lines operating with bigger capacity buses and some extra journeys at busy times.

Customers travelling between South Shields and Newcastle

• Go North East will be using double-deck buses on Crusader 26 and 27 services which serve Newcastle, Gateshead Interchange, Felling Metro, Heworth Metro, Hebburn, Jarrow Bus Station, Chichester Metro and South Shields Interchange up to every 10 minutes.
• The bus operator will also be running extra journeys on their Crusader services so there will be additional capacity available to help keep people moving.

Customers travelling between Sunderland and Newcastle

• Go North East’s Fab 56 service runs up to every 12 minutes between Sunderland and Newcastle, also calling at Southwick, Nissan, Concord, Springwell Village, Wrekenton and Gateshead.
• There will be additional plans in place to help keep services on time, with extra buses running as and when they are required.

Customers travelling from North Tyneside

• Go North East run a wide range of frequent services in and around North Tyneside, including Cobalt & Coast and CityLink routes which operate along the Coast Road into the heart of Newcastle.

Customers travelling around Gateshead and Newcastle

• Go North East runs a wide range of frequent services between Gateshead and Newcastle, with buses running up to every few minutes.

Great value day tickets are available for as little as £5.30, or even cheaper in Go North East’s Go Local Saver zones.

Weekly travel is also available on the company’s Crusader 26 and 27 services for just £18 – tickets can be bought in advance on the Go North East app or from your bus driver.

Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director at Go North East, said: “We appreciate that buses will be busier than normal as a result of the industrial action, so we’re boosting capacity in key areas to minimise disruption and allow as many people as possible to travel.

“We’ve got a great offer with our range of day and saver tickets, as well as accepting the multi modal Network One ticket range. Many of our buses also have free Wi-Fi and USB chargers as part of our continuing investments to make low carbon bus travel even better, so rather than drive we’re encouraging more people to get on board and give the bus a try.

“We'll be doing all we can to help keep our towns and cities moving by easing congestion, and in turn helping to improve air quality.”

To find out more about Go North East and to plan your journey, visit www.gonortheast.co.uk.