(09 Jun 2014, 2:53 pm)Tom wrote You could argue that Stagecoach don't care about their customers because they don't provide a evening or Sunday service on the 18 or 32 in Newcastle?

And the same with Arriva services across the region too.

Allowing services which aren't commercially viable to go to the local council is nothing new and the local councils aren't forced to subsidise them either. If they deem it necessary for the public, then they are likely to put the service up for tender. The means by which they do this can cause debate, as many of these parties choose not to take into account the quality of the service that can be provided by an operator who has put in a really low bid, nor do they take into account the confusion/inconvenience that may be caused by an alternative operator stepping in.