(06 Jul 2026, 7:49 pm)logidoodah wrote Firstly thank you for putting people in their place, (if that's the right phrase) we live in a world now where everyone has a go or critiques without being at all or even a little informed of what their talking about. In my opinion if franchising didn't work they wouldn't have done it in London for so long....I know there are pros and cons but it's got to be better than what we have now!
For the last bit you mentioned I can see them potentially using option 2 for the initial buses for the contracts, and then option 3 for any new vehicles and at the end of the first contracts after 8 years or however long it is all older buses will be phased out anyways leaving all buses owned by NEMSA to be leased out with the renewal of contracts, and probably with quite a few network changes by that point.
And regarding the depots does it mean that we will have one main operator (in Angel network branding) per area being - Gateshead/Washington, South Shields/Sunderland, NT/Northumberland, County Durham. Obviously not taking into account the small contracts which I'm guessing will benefit smaller operators such as GCT and Northstar etc....
The idea appears to be that that the large contracts are won by an operator, and they run all the services allocated to that depot. e.g. large lot B would include Deptford, Sunderland and South Shields strategic depots for that lot of contracts. I don't think this is dissimilar from the approach that Manchester took.
In terms of branding, it looks like the assessment is based on everything being in on uniform livery, but with allowances for route branding (e.g. for Park and Ride services). I suspect this will be more a 'sub-branding' though, rather than massively out of design spec. It does state that some stuff, e.g. scholars, won't be required to go into the livery, but will have the same appearance standards. That sounds sensible to me.
They make a lot of reference about the smaller lots being designed for SMEs, but I hope they manage to prevent what happened in Manchester, with smaller lots going to large operators. There is a requirement from SMEs to provide their own depots, which seems like a missed opportunity.
I'd have quite liked t o see NEMSA invest in some smaller sites that can be reutilised with contract changes. Build them as a multi-operator design, so you've not only got shared welfare and breakout facilities, re-fuelling, wash and light maintenance, but you'd also have shared office space that could be used. That would also create the ability to store and resell fuel, at a more competitive rate that the MSA could purchase it for.
(06 Jul 2026, 8:00 pm)Storx wrote I've had a quick flick through but I'm not sure where this growth is coming from. From I'm reading they're planning to tender, the exact same network as now which we all know doesn't work.
I really don't see, from a passenger, where there's any real difference at all - from now. It's very different to somewhere like Manchester where you've got trams and multiple operators fighting in the same areas which cause issues. The North East doesn't have that, it's either Arriva, Stagecoach or GoNorthEast (bar a very few areas).
The fares are already £2.50 so there's not much scope in that area.
What the London network which is a black hole which is funded by the rail side which the North East doesn't have? Nor does it have funds from elsewhere to cover it either?
I don't mean to sound patronising, but you really need to spare some time to properly read and consider what is in the documents that have been published. You're not going to get that from a 'quick flick'.
There's whole sections on the economic and financial cases, covering hundreds of pages. The 'not much scope' on fares is a commitment to "A significant simplification of the fares and ticketing offer, replacing the approximately 370+ different bus tickets on offer with a simple zonal system for single tickets and multi-operator / multi-modal daily plus weekly caps." and "Fares will not increase above inflation, and the size of the network will be maintained, for at least the first ten years of franchised services." for a start. Is that not scope? Fares have generally risen above the rate of inflation for as long as I remember.
The child poverty action plan parts of the assessment also cover things like free travel for under 18s and maintaining the £1/£3 for under 22s.
Like I say, you really need to spare some time to read it properly. There's a lot of good stuff in there, but you're not going to get a big bang improvement on day one.