(30 Jun 2023, 1:52 pm)Storx wrote Surely the other problem is there's no-one to drive the buses. GoNorthEast, in particular, are still having cancellations almost daily. It's very different to a few runs in an evening for one day.

Suspect if the contract value had been high enough they'd have found a way.  Just like they did for the Metro replacements last year while still leaving mass daily cancellations on the normal network.  Suspect 12 buses is going to be a bit of a disaster, though without knowing the area well I think the Hartlepool P&R sites will be less widely spread than Sunderland's were so wouldn't need the 50 odd used then.