(04 Apr 2026, 4:55 pm)Jimmi wrote Don't know if it is still the case, but service work in County Durham certainly used to have a 15 year age limit and a minimum seated capacity on each contract - unsure if any changes have been made in recent years to any contracts as some buses now exceed that age limit and some of Hodgsons services in Bishop Auckland now often use Sprinters when previously these would've fallen short on capacity.
I know Stagecoach can't use 83000 on the Sedgefield scholars to/from Wynyard as it doesn't have enough seats.
Think the Nexus contracts used to be minimum overall capacity (seating & standees) as quite a few were minimum 23 passengers on routes like the 168 which those Fiat Bluebirds were used on.
I believe that is still the case with DCC as Stagecoach Hartlepool can’t use the 09 plates on the 59. Saying that the 11 plates won’t be allowed from later this year/ early next year either.