(10 Sep 2015, 8:05 pm)aureolin wrote It's clearly been done as a cheap alternative to running a staff shuttle, like Deptford have for example. From what I understand, the Deptford staff shuttle is part of a rota, so they're having to pay a driver to drive it back and forth all day. From that perspective alone, they're probably saving about 40k-50k a year just from not running a Gateshead-Riverside shuttle.
I do agree that X66 festive loadings has the potential to cause problems for drivers trying to travel back to the depot, though I think it'll be something reviewed reactively, with a better solution put in place in the event of problems. I don't think I'd be too far out if I was to suggest that there'll be some sort of collective agreement in place for changeovers, and travel to/from Riverside anyway. It also works both ways remember, and a driver shouldn't be expected to eat into their break to allow for extra time to get back to Gateshead.
Don't forget though...previous festive seasons...have seen an increased use of double deckers on X66 as even the bendies were unable to cope with demand so the deckers that operated as dupes on the Bendies will no doubt act as dupes also for the streetlites