(18 Jan 2022, 11:14 pm)logidoodah wrote Surely it can't/shouldn't be GNE only because of recent driver problems and reducing timetables as last resort etc... Otherwise wouldn't be against it.

You can't prevent an operator from bidding because they have short-term sickness. It's up to the operator to fulfil their end of the contract, and of course you'd expect them to take into account resourcing when bidding for such work. 

(18 Jan 2022, 11:54 pm)Train8261 wrote Is it possible that it might not be a North East company

I can't see why it would be? The additional costs would be astronomical, if you're not relatively local to the work. An operator from outside the North East would really need to find somewhere to store buses overnight, and would have to pay drivers expenses and overnight accommodation for being away from home. Otherwise you end up having to drive a shed load of light mileage a day and pay drivers whilst they do that, which in turn minimises the amount of time they are available for the revenue generating work (due to driver hours)