(13 Nov 2022, 8:35 pm)mb134 wrote What other operator will have the resources readily available?Also, where are GNE going to get the Euro 6 spares from, while Im not against an expansion of GNE north of Newcastle, where are they going to store all the buses, Percy Main is full of school routes, Riverside is probably quite full not to mention the awful drivers shortages which the depot is experiencing, while GNE do plan to recruit 100 new drivers, when/if that is done how many would have left in that time, and they probs need 30-40 for just the routes they need day-in-day-out.
The M-F PVR of the 43/44/45 is 9. If we say around 2-3 drivers per bus per day, then you're looking at about 25 drivers per day needed to operate it. That's not accounting for Saturday or Sunday operation, holidays, driver sickness, driver training. So, as quite a conservative estimate, you'll need at least 30 drivers available to operate it if we assume there'll be some happy to do overtime.
Given that all of the large operators are still, as far as I know, suffering to some degree from the shortage then I doubt any are in a position to actively seek that much work at present.
The only way I could see any expansion is if another company goes bust and they have euro 6 single & double deckers available for purchase and where able to comfortably operate it.