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Bus cancellations 'hitting town centre trade'

Jim Scott
BBC News, North East and Cumbria
BBC Callum McCall has short black and white hair. He is wearing a black hoody and is standing inside a card shop with greetings cards on display in the background.BBC
Shop owner Callum McCall said Front Street in Stanley has been "a lot quieter"

A shop owner says "livelihoods" will go if a bus company does not improve its performance and reduce the number of cancelled services.

Callum McCall, who owns Card Trix in Stanley, County Durham, said Front Street in the town was "a lot quieter" and trade was being impacted since reliability issues at Go North East (GNE) emerged.

Passengers have reported large gaps in services and bus drivers claim vehicles are breaking down due to a "lack of maintenance" while newer vehicles are sent to sister firm Go North West.

GNE maintains cold weather is to blame for the disruption and said it was working to restore normal service.

Durham County Council said it was working with the firm to "develop an action plan to resolve their engineering challenges".

A yellow recovery truck is attached to a yellow and green double-decker bus which says 'Angel' on the side. It is surrounded by other buses which are off the road.
GNE drivers previously told the BBC buses were not always maintained properly

Speaking about current levels of custom, Mr McCall said: "Footfall on the street and trade in the shops have seen a decline, it's definitely a quieter period.

"High streets are already bad, it's killing them even more.

"We try and get people out and not shop online but a lot more people are going to go online and livelihoods are going to go."

Billy Parker, has short white hair and wears black-rimmed glasses and a a purple and blue coloured jacket over a thick black jumper. A blue and white building is behind him, out of focus.
Billy Parker said GNE services in his area have been unreliable

Billy Parker, from East Stanley, described the current service as "very poor" and said delays and cancellations had been going on for the past year.

"I've missed doctor appointments and hospital appointments being late, I've had to cancel them [because of] Go North East.

"It's not the bus drivers' fault, it's Go North East not keeping the buses up to standard."

The firm previously said it "wholeheartedly apologises" for the inconvenience caused to passengers.

It said bus services were being impacted "due to the recent bad weather" and it was "working around the clock" to restore normal service.

GNE said it was also "conducting an in-depth review of our winter maintenance preparedness for the coming year".

The Derwent Valley, which includes Stanley, was among the worst affected areas when a strike over pay and conditions halted nearly all GNE services for 12 weeks at the end of 2023.

Most routes in the area are operated by the firm.

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