Passengers travelling by public transport in the region are being advised to check their journeys due to industrial action taking place by National Express West Midlands and National Express Coventry bus drivers from Monday 20th March.

National Express bus will be operating an extremely limited service. They have confirmed a select number of routes that will still be operating on a reduced timetable. These can be found at nxbus.co.uk.

Other bus operators including Diamond, Arriva, Stagecoach, Landflight, and other operators will be operating as normal, including where they run the same route as National Express West Midlands, but are expected to be much busier.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) is advising passengers who use these services to allow extra time for their journeys and consider travelling outside of peak times where possible. In many places National Express are the only provider of bus services so people are advised to check carefully and consider their options.

Customers with National Express tickets will be able to claim a refund for any pre-purchased tickets for strike days via their website. Other operators will not be accepting National Express bus tickets, therefore customers are advised to check the best ticket for their journey before traveling. Information on multi-operator tickets can be found at tfwm.org.uk.

Rail is expected to operate as normal this week, and Metro will look to increase capacity where they are able to do so. Local roads are also expected to be much busier than normal, so if travelling by car allow extra time and consider car sharing.

TfWM’s Regional Transport Coordination Centre will be working to manage disruption where possible. Information is included on the TfWM dedicated webpage and passengers are advised to visit here and follow social media channels for the very latest travel information.

A TfWM spokesperson said: “Bus travel accounts for approximately 80% of journeys by public transport and the overwhelming majority of those journeys are with National Express West Midlands.

“Therefore, this strike will have a significant impact on our network and it is disappointing for the many people who travel around our region every day that industrial action continues to affect them.“