Weather blamed for bus delays and cancellations

Services in the Consett, Stanley and Durham City areas have been badly affected

Widespread delays and cancellations to bus services have been caused by freezing weather, an operator has said.

Passengers in parts of County Durham faced severe problems on Monday and Tuesday, with some saying they waited hours for buses that did not arrive, making them late for school, college and work.

Go North East said recent sub-zero temperatures had affected vehicle systems, including batteries and engines.

It vowed to restore its timetabled services as soon as possible.

The 16 Durham Diamond service, which serves Consett, Stanley and Durham City, was particularly affected by cancellations, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

'Can't be acceptable'

City of Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy reported receiving multiple messages about children being late for school due to the delays.

"Once again I find my inbox filling up with complaints from constituents about the state of local bus services," the Labour MP said.

"Prior to Christmas, I received assurances from Go North East that we would see improvements to the service my constituents were receiving, but as far as I can see we haven't yet had any major improvements.

"It can't be acceptable that the public transport that people rely on the most simply doesn't work in adverse weather conditions."

'Working tirelessly'

A Go North East spokesperson apologised for the "ongoing disruption to bus services triggered by the recent freezing weather".

They added: "The extreme temperatures have had a knock-on effect on vehicle systems, particularly batteries, engines and air systems, which can struggle in sub-zero conditions.

"This has impacted our ability to run some services as scheduled.

"These conditions are affecting many transport operators, but we are doing everything we can to address the issues.

"Our engineers, drivers and support teams are working tirelessly around the clock to repair vehicles and restore normal service as quickly as possible."