(24 Aug 2022, 4:05 pm)col87 wrote Hartlepool especially needs investment. It’s fine bringing 4 darts up from Yorkshire but if one has been immediately scrapped another one has not been used due to problems and only 2 have actually been used in regular service while 4 buses have been withdrawn then it really don’t help much.  The fact is since Stagecoach took over Hartlepool Transport it’s gone from a fully functional depot doing everything to the bare bones with services completely cut down.  Hartlepool needs a depot or else it’s just going to lead to more service cuts in which case they might just be better off selling to Go North east or Arriva.  They is a very simple solution though.

Move all remaining Darts to Hartlepool with some E200 going elsewhere as replacements.

Some of  the Alx300 move to Hartlepool from Newcastle/ Stockton to see off most of the remaining Manviros. 

Service 1 and 36 to be joint operated between Hartlepool and Stockton freeing up buses and drivers  from Stockton depot.  It means Hartlepool get some slightly better buses Stockton get some free drivers for other routes so win win.

yes would make sense that darts go to hartlepool, so that's the 2 (correct me if I'm wrong)at Sunderland swapped for 2 E200s, even if they are terrible Sunderland allegedly has a healthy spare vehicle ratio, however many at south shields swapped 1 for 1.

ideally services 1 and 36 as you suggest get jointly operated like the 62/63 in Newcastle. maybe 2/3 ALX 300from Stockton go to hartlepool in return for E200.

Hopefully either an investment of maybe 10-20 new short wheelbase MMCs per year for the next 3 years should be made which I would suggest for the CAZ coming split between Newcastle and Sunderland the first year, followed by Stockton and hartlepool the second year and then Newcastle and Sunderland the third year. thereby allowing the same amount of troublesome buses to be scrapped with hartlepool getting the 1st pick of any cascade until the problem has been sorted.

or as sadly is probably the most likely outcome is that whatever cascades are made through the group hartlepool tries to grab and see what it can use.