(24 Mar 2014, 5:22 pm)Tom wrote I don't see why Arriva can't bid for the 74 as the evening journeys start/finish in Matfen.
Looking at the timetable, there is one (Monday-Saturday) evening journey which starts/finishes in Matfen arriving at 21:50 before heading back into Newcastle at 22:00. After returning to Newcastle, it then operates on the 23:00 service back to Hexham where it ends.
The 74A terminates at Matfen on a Sunday. It also starts/finishes at Newcastle. If this is also a separate contract then there is no reason why Arriva or even Stagecoach can't bid for this tender. However, if both services are included in the same tender, then there would be a lot of dead mileage running to Hexham and back during the week.