(25 Feb 2023, 9:39 pm)Rapidsnap wrote The thing about Percy Main depot is that it's location is handy for throwing out extra buses for the Ferry Terminal work whether it's the 327 or cruise liners. It would probably only take around 15 minutes to prep a bus and send it down the International Ferry Terminal. Also the fact that a lot of the North Tyneside School Runs use vehicles that don't meet the Newcastle emission zone at the moment, so if it was ran from Riverside, then the buses would have to go a roundabout route to avoid the zone or pay the charge.

Was looking at the map last night, and an ideal place would be next door to the Howdon Metro depot. No houses to cause any issues with regarding vehicle movements and noise, easy access from the main roads.

If Percy Main was to be the next depot to close then I sincerely hope they do have a replacement site lined up first rather than bunching all the vehicles up into other depots. Some of the depots are already massively overcrowded, such as Washington. There must be less space for vehicles even at the likes of Riverside too after the closure of the Chester depot. I don't think the drivers at Percy Main will be too chuffed either having to travel further to get to work and either having to pay tyne tunnel fees or getting stuck in traffic. Yes they could use their free travel ticket unless they are operating the first buses of the day but it would take a lot longer for them getting to work. We all know that was a big issue when Chester closed! It's often been highlighted that GNE have struggled with driver numbers and recruiting in recent times, so surely the last thing they should be doing right now is unsettling and upsetting the drivers they have now. If Percy Main is to lose the scholars contracts etc then how about they operate some of the services that currenty operate from Riverside instead? Or they could operate South Tyneside based services instead. That way buses are spread out, allowing more space at depots and drivers would be uneffected.