(3 hours ago)Michael wrote Gutted about Northstar losing the 599.

They ran it really good.

Sadly it's the massive flaw with the short contracts which Nexus does. They'd be much better awarding 3/4 year contracts and give the operator a little bit of a chance to do something with their route, even if it's forced branding on some like the Durham P&R, Northumberland Connect, Durham Cathedral, Whitby P&R etc. services.

It doesn't help anyone having a route yo-yo'ing around operators and I'm sure operators like Northstar would love that opportunity.

Heck just look at City Transport and their effort on the Sunderland Connect which is the only one with a longer contract.