(09 May 2026, 11:25 am)Busesinnewcastle wrote Along with 10635 at Slatyford

19682 is at sunderland

So 19646 and 10635 went to Slatyford to replace a couple of Yutong’s that went off to be charged for the LS1 service this evening. Anyone know why 10000 went to South Shields though?

So if Sunderland got 73120,1 there should gave 73175 back to stockton depot now? I say should have some extra buses at stockton depot why stockton had 73058 on loan if stockton had enough buses why bring buses from Sunderland on loan then? If enough buses.at stockton depot?

(10 May 2026, 2:27 am)Glen1974 wrote So if Sunderland got 73120,1 there should gave 73175 back to stockton depot now? I say should have some extra buses at stockton depot why stockton had 73058 on loan if stockton had enough buses why bring buses from Sunderland on loan then? If enough buses.at stockton depot?

Stockton don’t require any additional buses, 73058 came down to assist following a 3rd party incident over night - it was only needed in the end due to the bus due to go on that board having a AVL issue that was fixable on the day!

There are usually 2 buses VOR a day for inspection and that’s it!

Thank for that mate

There is a genuine concern growing that due to the franchising Stagecoach could pull out of Newcastle completely if they don’t like the way the franchising will go. They already lost 2 depots in Manchester, a load of buses they probably lost quite a bit of money when that happened and I doubt they want to go through that again.

If they do pull out of Newcastle all the routes would be up for grabs, less profitable ones will just die off and 400+ drivers will be out of work. I really hope it doesn’t go that way but with the lack of investment in the fleet with some buses nearing 20 years old it’s something to think about.

(Yesterday, 7:24 pm)TransitObserver wrote There is a genuine concern growing that due to the franchising Stagecoach could pull out of Newcastle completely if they don’t like the way the franchising will go. They already lost 2 depots in Manchester, a load of buses they probably lost quite a bit of money when that happened and I doubt they want to go through that again.

If they do pull out of Newcastle all the routes would be up for grabs, less profitable ones will just die off and 400+ drivers will be out of work. I really hope it doesn’t go that way but with the lack of investment in the fleet with some buses nearing 20 years old it’s something to think about.

Although Stagecoach aren't exactly thrilled about the prospect of franchising and grumble about it every chance they get it hasn't stopped them bidding and being successful in both Manchester and Liverpool, albeit perhaps not the depots they necessarily wanted - the chances of Stagecoach pulling out of Newcastle is incredibly slim. Go Ahead similarly have done alright out of Manchester and Liverpool. 

If anything it's Arriva who would be most likely to pull out/lose out - they pulled out of Manchester rather than fight to stay in the market there and they've not had much success yet in Merseyside losing both Wirral and St Helens!

(Yesterday, 7:24 pm)TransitObserver wrote There is a genuine concern growing that due to the franchising Stagecoach could pull out of Newcastle completely if they don’t like the way the franchising will go. They already lost 2 depots in Manchester, a load of buses they probably lost quite a bit of money when that happened and I doubt they want to go through that again.

If they do pull out of Newcastle all the routes would be up for grabs, less profitable ones will just die off and 400+ drivers will be out of work. I really hope it doesn’t go that way but with the lack of investment in the fleet with some buses nearing 20 years old it’s something to think about.

Surely Stagecoach would go bust if they done that though considering their other main areas such as South Yorkshire, Wales, Glasgow, West Midlands (Coventry) and Liverpool are doing the same.

They won't have much left and I'm not sure the likes of Stagecoach East are going to be carrying them.

(Yesterday, 7:58 pm)Storx wrote Surely Stagecoach would go bust if they done that though considering their other main areas such as South Yorkshire, Wales, Glasgow, West Midlands (Coventry) and Liverpool are doing the same.

They won't have much left and I'm not sure the likes of Stagecoach East are going to be carrying them.

Just wish they would invest instead of having old buses driving the streets of Newcastle. GNE are investing, Arriva too albeit with funding from the Government and NECA but Stagecoach are very quiet. There’s definitely something going on because I emailed the Mayor Kim McGuinness and got a response that any investment should be made by Stagecoach it’s not the NECA that are investing fully in the buses.

(Yesterday, 8:10 pm)TransitObserver wrote Just wish they would invest instead of having old buses driving the streets of Newcastle. GNE are investing, Arriva too albeit with funding from the Government and NECA but Stagecoach are very quiet. There’s definitely something going on because I emailed the Mayor Kim McGuinness and got a response that any investment should be made by Stagecoach it’s not the NECA that are investing fully in the buses.

Aye it's a strange one, ngl I have a feeling it might be down to Stockport in a way more than anything else.

I don't know but I have a feeling that some of 10423-30/43-51, 10587-99 should have been up here replacing the E400's.

Obviously their stuck down there now though due to the depot farce. They did try their best to get some of them up with the hybrid swap but obviously only so far you can go.

Fleet wouldn't have been too bad if they were really.

(Yesterday, 7:24 pm)TransitObserver wrote There is a genuine concern growing that due to the franchising Stagecoach could pull out of Newcastle completely if they don’t like the way the franchising will go. They already lost 2 depots in Manchester, a load of buses they probably lost quite a bit of money when that happened and I doubt they want to go through that again.

If they do pull out of Newcastle all the routes would be up for grabs, less profitable ones will just die off and 400+ drivers will be out of work. I really hope it doesn’t go that way but with the lack of investment in the fleet with some buses nearing 20 years old it’s something to think about.

Yes they lost depots in Manchester, but they gained some too (Queen's Road for example, plus Oldham)