(30 Oct 2022, 8:58 am)F114TML wrote How far in advance are drivers told to terminate in Gateshead (I'm assuming this is due to driver shortage)? Maybe it was just luck, but I was on the 10/11 on Friday and about 15 minutes after I picked up the bus (so a good 3 hours or so before I was meant to be off); "36969 - on your last run, can you terminate in the City Centre and run light to the depot, please?"
Of course, I still got people wanting to go to Hendon on that last run, despite having "city centre" on the front in big letters but that's another discussion (Think I could put a destination in Shields up and no one would notice as long as the route number's correct).
It varies by depot, but at some of the more organised/better resourced GNE depots, drivers have notes attached to their duty board which gives them specific instructions for that day - i.e. terminate short on a particular trip due to no relief, or pick up a bus from the park because it won't be running.
Of course the issue with being better prepared is that the situation can (and does) evolve through the day - especially when a lot of the issues still relate to sickness, rather than a staff shortage (which is the norm in the bus industry, with extra shifts picked up as overtime).