(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.
Yes they lost depots in Manchester, but they gained some too (Queen's Road for example, plus Oldham)