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Translink: No buses or trains on Friday because of strike | Translink: No buses or trains on Friday because of strike |
(about 5 hours later) | |
There will be no scheduled bus or train services in Northern Ireland on Friday due to strike action, Translink says. | |
Bus and train drivers from the Unite and GMB unions are joining the strike action by public sector workers. The action is being taken over budget cuts and job losses. | |
Police said they would not be enforcing bus lanes during the strike action. | |
It said this would not apply "where buses use the hard shoulder on the motorways". | |
Police said they were making the decision in response to "the exceptional circumstances and the additional traffic that may be on the roads as a result of the proposed public transport strike". | |
Translink said it was contacting education boards to find out if schools are open on Friday and to discuss options for transport. | Translink said it was contacting education boards to find out if schools are open on Friday and to discuss options for transport. |
"I would like to apologise to all our passengers who will be inconvenienced by this strike action which is unfortunately beyond our control," Ciaran Rogan of Translink said. | "I would like to apologise to all our passengers who will be inconvenienced by this strike action which is unfortunately beyond our control," Ciaran Rogan of Translink said. |
"I think it is important to give people as much notice as possible in order that they may make alternative arrangements for travel on that day." | "I think it is important to give people as much notice as possible in order that they may make alternative arrangements for travel on that day." |
Services will return to normal on Saturday. | Services will return to normal on Saturday. |
Between them, Unite and the GMB are estimated to have about 70% of public transport workers as members. | Between them, Unite and the GMB are estimated to have about 70% of public transport workers as members. |
In a statement, the Department of Education said it was aware there may be an impact on some schools on Friday and that school transport may also be affected. | |
"Parents should liaise with schools regarding attendance on Friday and consider making alternative arrangements to get children to school where possible," it said. | |
The department's most recent figures, state that more than 50,000 pupils use Translink to travel to and from school. |