Council thanks transport sector following travel disruption over the weekend

Hull City Council has thanked the city's bus operators and taxi drivers for keeping commuters and members of the travelling public moving on Saturday in the face of extremely challenging circumstances due to the scenes of violent criminality witnessed in the city centre.

It was a busy weekend in Hull, with the annual Humber Street Sesh attracting thousands of music lovers to the city.

The temporary closure of Hull Paragon Interchange on Saturday afternoon and evening, to ensure the safety of staff and customers, required quick action from Stagecoach East Midlands and East Yorkshire Buses, with contingency plans enacted to mitigate the effect on travellers and to keep people moving.

Rail services were also impacted and saw the city's train operators, including Northern, TransPennine Express and Hull Trains, having to cancel services with staff at stations around the country trying to assist passengers affected by the disruption.

"Following the disgraceful behaviour on Saturday, the council's public transport team moved swiftly to ensure our residents and visitors to the city could get to where they needed to be," said Councillor Mark Ieronimo, cabinet portfolio holder for transportation, roads and highways.

"The unacceptable violence had a significant impact on transport in, out and around Hull and I'd like to thank our bus operators, the city's taxi drivers and all those connected with the railways for their professionalism and dedication in supporting customers in the face of such abhorrent scenes.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to praise the council's public transport staff and the organisers of Humber Street Sesh for doing all they could to ensure people got home safely."