(Yesterday, 7:24 pm)TransitObserver wrote There is a genuine concern growing that due to the franchising Stagecoach could pull out of Newcastle completely if they don’t like the way the franchising will go. They already lost 2 depots in Manchester, a load of buses they probably lost quite a bit of money when that happened and I doubt they want to go through that again.
If they do pull out of Newcastle all the routes would be up for grabs, less profitable ones will just die off and 400+ drivers will be out of work. I really hope it doesn’t go that way but with the lack of investment in the fleet with some buses nearing 20 years old it’s something to think about.
Although Stagecoach aren't exactly thrilled about the prospect of franchising and grumble about it every chance they get it hasn't stopped them bidding and being successful in both Manchester and Liverpool, albeit perhaps not the depots they necessarily wanted - the chances of Stagecoach pulling out of Newcastle is incredibly slim. Go Ahead similarly have done alright out of Manchester and Liverpool.
If anything it's Arriva who would be most likely to pull out/lose out - they pulled out of Manchester rather than fight to stay in the market there and they've not had much success yet in Merseyside losing both Wirral and St Helens!