Signs of hope in bus dispute

Bus drivers are angry over policy on attacks

There are hopes that bus services in Belfast will return to normal on Friday after a lightning strike.

Citybus services ground to a standstill on Thursday after drivers walked out.

Union representatives said they were unhappy with the way the company that runs Citybus, Translink, handled recent attacks on staff.

Talks between unions and Translink ended with no clear sign of an agreement but it is understood drivers have agreed to come into work on Friday morning.

Ciaran Rogan: Hopes services will return to normal

Translink spokesman Ciaran Rogan said nothing definitive had been decided but that he hoped normal services would be resuming.

Union representative John Coffey said: "There has been a lot of ill feeling from the drivers over the last few weeks and for some reason today the bubble burst.

"When they heard the story of one driver who spent a very difficult Christmas, financially I'm talking about, they feel the company is making attacks on our agreements.

"They just said 'well why continue,'" he said.

Bus services in some parts of the city were rerouted this month after two drivers were robbed at knifepoint.

Bus services will now not go into Ligoniel estate in the north of the city at any time of the day.