(17 Jun 2016, 6:38 pm)Adrian wrote Whoever takes over, it just needs someone with some fresh ideas...

Id like to see an entire strategy change for Stagecoach.

They've barely changed a thing since taking over the various corporations in the north east. Minor tweaks here and there but they've not moved with how the industry has changed. 

GNE and Arriva have changed their product to suit what the bus market now is - a commercial product. Their brands made their routes ultra-visable to potential new customers. Stagecoach, however, generally still operate plain vehicles which look anonymous to the general public.

It's also a shame how Stagecoach have continued to operate each depot as its own territory with very little crossing of boundaries. A strategy change earlier on could have seen Stagecoach operating into County Durham and beyond by now. It could be argued integrating the Darlington operation into a wider cross-tees valley network could have saved that depot. Similarly I've always thought a Stagecoach Sunderland-Hartlepool via Peterlee could have worked before the GNE X7 came along as they already have established customer bases in each terminus who surely have needs to travel south/north respectively.