(17 Feb 2014, 1:16 pm)Dan wrote Go North East have specific business units at each depot - services like the TEN and Toon Link will belong to one business unit, and only certain drivers will be able to operate the services in this business unit.

This means that drivers can be completely familiar with a few services - know the zone boundaries inside and out, know where a stop may be that a passenger requests which a driver from another business unit may not be able to identify, etc...

If it's a rather small business unit, passengers can get to know their drivers too. the Tynedalexpress was first marketed, something along the lines of 'Driven by your friendly local drivers at Hexham depot' was something said.

That last line (or very similar) was used on all, if not the majority of timetables and literature when branding was first introduced.

You have partly answered a question which has been going through my mind since last weekend.

Apart from the examples you gave, where you have stated certain units are allocated certain drivers, can anyone confirm if an ex Winlaton driver would appear on a 57 or 58 now, or will they still drive routes, previously allocated to their home depot?

That then links into an additional question, since there are now a range of vehicles allocated (often incorrectly) to different routes.
If a problem occurs with a decker working an 11 and the only spare vehicle is a Versa, what will happen to the ex Winlaton driver if he/she isn't familiar with that vehicle type?
Will they be told to just get on with it, or have driving staff been given familiarisation training behind the scenes?
Obviously depot standardisation comes into its own here, but with a depot the size of Riverside, that is practically impossible.