Bus strike day cost CT Plus 7,000 trips

A SINGLE day of bus driver strike action cost CT Plus 7,000 passenger journeys, the operator has suggested.

Latest monthly figures showed the company carried 11,625 fewer passengers in June than it had the previous year – a 7.65% drop to 140,266 in total.

Frank Villeneuve-Smith, pictured, communications director for CT Plus owner the HCT Group, said the industrial action, plus a reduced timetable, had hit the company hard.

'The one-day strike accounted for 6,000 to 7,000 lost passenger trips,' he said.

'The remainder came from running a reduced timetable.'

However he added that, despite this, CT Plus was encouraged by recent ridership numbers.