PASSENGERS are being urged to plan their journeys ahead of strike action on rail and bus services in Merseyside today.
Strike action on Arriva buses comes after crisis talks over pay between the union Unite and Arriva North West broke down on Thursday, October 12.
Arriva staff have also announced further strike action every Monday throughout November and Wednesday, November 8.
Bus services by other operators including Stagecoach are due to run as normal with increased capacity on key routes.
Walk-outs by Arriva staff will coincide with rail strikes by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) which will affect Merseyrail and Northern services on November 8.
The dispute between RMT and Merseyrail relates to a new fleet of driver-only trains that will replace the current 40-year-old rolling stock in 2020 which RMT say will threaten the security of guards jobs on trains.
Merseyrail services are planned to run every 30 minutes with the exception of the New Brighton to Liverpool services which will be every hour from around 7am to 7pm with a break in service between around 11.30am and 2.30pm.
Northern will also operate a reduced service with the majority of trains operating between 7am and 7pm.
Other train operating companies including TransPennine Express, East Midlands Trains and London Midland will continue to operate as normal.
For the latest travel information visit http://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/travel-updates/Pages/default.aspx
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