For anyone interested in seeing the evidence gained by the Competition Commission during their investigation of the alleged collusion by Arriva and Go North East here is the link
http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/inquiries/ref2010/localbus/pdf/appendix_1_appendix_excised.pdf
The point to remember in all of this - and not mentioned in any of the press reports, is that Arriva and Go North East both referred the matter to the Office of Fair Trading, who gave their full approval.
Now the Competition Commission are re-presenting the facts in such a way as to suggest collusion between the two companies. As the massively expensive and time consuming investigation into the bus industry has largely failed to discover anything wrong, it makes you wonder whether this is an effort by the Commission to justify their existence.
David Gambles
